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The Electric Mercedes-Benz CLA Is Officially the Safest New Car Tested in 2025

If safety ratings were podium finishes, the all-new electric Mercedes-Benz CLA didn’t just win its class—it lapped the field.

In the latest round of Euro NCAP testing, the electric CLA earned a five-star rating and then went a step further, emerging as the highest-scoring vehicle of any brand tested in 2025. Not “best electric compact.” Not “best Mercedes.” Best overall. Full stop.

That’s a bold claim in a testing environment that has grown steadily tougher over the years, with stricter protocols and a heavier emphasis on real-world accident prevention. Euro NCAP now evaluates not only how well a car protects its occupants when things go wrong, but also how effectively it helps prevent accidents in the first place—and how it treats everyone else sharing the road.

The CLA aced all of it.

Top Scores, Across the Board

Euro NCAP breaks its evaluation into four main categories: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, protection of vulnerable road users, and safety assistance systems. The electric CLA posted top-tier results in every single one.

That combination is what pushed it beyond category leadership and into overall-best territory. While it naturally leads the “Small Family Cars” segment, its aggregate score was strong enough to outrank vehicles from larger and more expensive classes as well.

That puts the CLA in familiar company. Last year, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class took Euro NCAP’s “Best Performer” title, and now the CLA continues that streak—albeit in a smaller, fully electric package.

Built From Scratch, Not Retrofitted

Part of the story here is that the electric CLA isn’t a lightly reworked combustion-era car. Mercedes-Benz says it was developed from the ground up, and that clean-sheet approach clearly extended to safety engineering.

“We have redesigned the CLA from the ground up,” said Jörg Burzer, Mercedes-Benz Group AG board member and Chief Technology Officer. “This also includes development of the safety features that are part of Mercedes’ DNA.”

That DNA shows up in familiar places: a rigid passenger cell, carefully engineered crumple zones, and restraint systems designed to manage crash forces efficiently. The goal, as always, is to keep injury risk as low as possible if an accident becomes unavoidable.

But modern safety is just as much about avoidance as survival.

A Strong Focus on Prevention

Euro NCAP’s growing emphasis on active safety plays directly into Mercedes-Benz’s long-standing obsession with driver assistance technology. The CLA’s standard safety suite includes systems designed to detect hazards early, support the driver in critical moments, and intervene when necessary.

“Our ambition is to not only protect occupants in a Mercedes-Benz, but all road users,” said Prof. Dr. Paul Dick, Director of Safety and Accident Research at Mercedes-Benz AG.

That philosophy matters, because vulnerable road users—pedestrians, cyclists, and others—now account for a significant portion of Euro NCAP’s scoring. The CLA’s strong showing in this area suggests its sensors, software, and braking systems work cohesively, not just for marketing bullet points but in test scenarios meant to mirror real-world chaos.

Context Matters—and Timing Too

The CLA’s achievement lands at an interesting moment for Mercedes-Benz. In 2026, the company marks 140 years since the invention of the automobile. Over that history, Mercedes hasn’t just chased performance or luxury; it has repeatedly turned safety research into production technology, often well before rivals followed suit.

From early passive safety concepts to modern driver assistance systems, many features that are now industry standards made their public debut wearing a three-pointed star. The electric CLA doesn’t introduce a single headline-grabbing invention, but it shows how far that accumulated expertise has been refined.

This isn’t safety as an add-on. It’s safety as a system.

The electric CLA’s Euro NCAP performance won’t make it faster or flashier, but it does something arguably more important: it reframes expectations for what a compact, electric Mercedes should deliver as standard.

Being the safest car in its class is impressive. Being the safest car tested in an entire year is something else entirely.

For buyers, it means the CLA isn’t just a design-forward EV with a premium badge—it’s a benchmark. For competitors, it’s a clear message: the safety bar just moved, and Mercedes-Benz moved it again.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

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Rolls-Royce’s Next EV Looks Less Cullinan, More Shooting Brake

Rolls-Royce is quietly assembling its second all-electric act, a high-sided vehicle (don’t call it an SUV—Goodwood won’t) set to arrive in 2027 alongside the already-on-sale Spectre coupe. And thanks to fresh spy shots from BMW’s winter testing grounds, we’re finally getting a sense of what this ultra-luxury EV is—and just as importantly, what it isn’t.

Forget the Cullinan’s granite-block stance. This new electric Rolls is lower, sleeker, and more streamlined, with a silhouette that leans closer to a luxury wagon than a traditional SUV. The greenhouse is shallower, the roofline smoother, and the whole thing looks as though it was shaped by the wind rather than carved from it. Yet appearances deceive: despite looking lower and leaner, this EV is expected to be even longer than the Cullinan, which already stretches past 5.3 meters. Expect overall length to land somewhere between the Ghost and Phantom sedans—roughly 5.3 to 5.4 meters—because excess is still very much the point.

Rolls-Royce design DNA is unmistakable beneath the camouflage. There’s the long bonnet, the upright nose, and the classic Rolls proportions with short front and long rear overhangs. Rear-hinged coach doors are present and correct, and the tail wears compact, Spectre-inspired taillights. But the real intrigue is up front.

The Pantheon grille remains the visual anchor, as tradition demands, but the lighting treatment around it signals a more experimental Rolls-Royce. Thin LED light strakes sit at the junction of the hood and front bumper, transitioning from angled to vertical as they approach the grille. Below them are vertically stacked headlights—test units for now, but their placement hints strongly at the production design. It’s formal, yes, but also surprisingly modern for a brand that usually treats innovation like a whispered secret.

Inside, expect the most digitally ambitious Rolls-Royce cabin yet. This isn’t a V-12-powered drawing room on wheels, and Rolls knows it. Larger displays and deeper digital customization are likely, though they’ll be carefully wrapped in the brand’s usual excess of leather, wood, and metal craftsmanship. Think cutting-edge tech, but delivered with white gloves.

Under the skin, the new EV should benefit from BMW’s Neue Klasse battery architecture, promising improvements in efficiency and charging capability. Still, physics is undefeated. Given the vehicle’s sheer size and mass, expect real-world range to land somewhere between 300 and 400 miles. Power will come from a twin-motor setup producing north of 500 horsepower, with a Black Badge variant all but guaranteed to push past 600. As with the Spectre, outright speed won’t be the headline—effortless, silent authority will be.

This electric high-rider isn’t expected to immediately replace the Cullinan. The gas-powered SUV continues to sell well in markets that still embrace V-12 excess, particularly the U.S. and the Middle East. That said, another generation of V-12 Cullinan seems unlikely. More plausible is a third EV—an electric Phantom successor—arriving around 2028 to fully usher Rolls-Royce into its battery-powered era.

Competition? There will be plenty of expensive electrons flying around. Bentley’s upcoming “Urban SUV” is due next year, but it’ll be smaller, sportier, and more closely related to the Porsche Cayenne EV than to anything from Goodwood. Jaguar’s forthcoming electric SUV, following its dramatic GT reboot, may end up being the sharper rival. Still, Rolls-Royce isn’t chasing market share—it’s defining its own lane.

As for price, Rolls-Royce etiquette says it’s impolite to ask. But if you insist, expect no change from the usual neighborhood of £350,000. Because if you have to ask, you’re probably not the customer anyway.

Source: AutoExpress

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Porsche Sales Dip in 2025, but the 911 Just Keeps Winning

After a string of record-breaking years, Porsche finally lifted its foot—just slightly—off the accelerator in 2025. The Stuttgart brand delivered 279,449 cars worldwide, down 10 percent from 2024’s 310,718. That drop might look dramatic at first glance, but Porsche isn’t panicking. In fact, this slowdown appears less like a stumble and more like a deliberate recalibration.

If anything, 2025 reinforced Porsche’s favorite mantra: value over volume.

The Big Picture: Selling Less, Charging More

Porsche executives are quick to point out that the decline was expected. Supply gaps for the outgoing 718 Boxster and Cayman, reduced availability of combustion-powered Macans, softer demand for high-end luxury cars in China, and tighter inventory control all played a role. Translation: Porsche chose not to flood the market, even if that meant fewer cars leaving dealerships.

The strategy aligns with how Porsche has operated for decades. This is not a company chasing leaderboard sales numbers; it’s chasing margins, desirability, and brand gravity. And judging by its continued profitability, that approach still works.

The 911: Aging Like a Perfectly Stored Rioja

In a year full of market uncertainty, one thing remained gloriously predictable: the 911.

Deliveries of Porsche’s rear-engined icon rose 1 percent to 51,583 units, setting yet another record. Yes, even as the industry debates electrification, autonomy, and the future of driving itself, customers continue lining up for a car whose basic layout dates back to the 1960s.

The continued success of combustion and T-Hybrid 911 variants underscores a key truth: Porsche can electrify the future without abandoning the emotional core that made the brand famous. The 911 still benchmarks the segment—and increasingly, it defines it.

Macan: The Sales King, Now Plugged In

The Macan once again topped Porsche’s sales charts with 84,328 deliveries, making it the company’s strongest model line. More interesting than the raw number is how those cars were powered.

Over half of all Macans delivered were fully electric—a major milestone for a model that once represented Porsche’s most accessible gateway into the brand. Outside the EU, the gas-powered Macan continues to live on, accounting for nearly 39,000 deliveries, but the direction is clear: the electric Macan isn’t just accepted—it’s thriving.

Electrification: Porsche Plays the Long Game

Globally, 34.4 percent of Porsche deliveries in 2025 were electrified, with 22.2 percent fully electric and 12.1 percent plug-in hybrids. That puts Porsche at the top end of its own EV targets for the year—and ahead of many legacy rivals still struggling to balance regulations with customer expectations.

Europe led the charge. For the first time, electrified Porsches outsold pure combustion models, accounting for nearly 58 percent of deliveries. Plug-in hybrids dominated Panamera and Cayenne sales, while every third Porsche delivered in Europe was fully electric.

Still, the picture isn’t universally rosy. The Taycan, once Porsche’s EV poster child, slipped 22 percent to 16,339 units, reflecting a broader cooling of EV demand. Even Porsche isn’t immune to consumer hesitation around charging infrastructure, pricing, and long-term ownership concerns.

Cayenne and Panamera: Transition Years

The Cayenne dropped 21 percent to 80,886 deliveries, partly due to inflated numbers in 2024 following supply recovery. But the real story is what comes next: the fully electric Cayenne, unveiled late in 2025, will begin reaching customers this spring—sold alongside combustion and hybrid versions.

That “three-pronged powertrain strategy” might sound like corporate jargon, but it’s actually one of Porsche’s smartest moves. Instead of forcing buyers into a single future, Porsche is letting the market decide—at least for now.

The Panamera followed a similar trajectory, posting 27,701 deliveries, down 6 percent. Again, plug-in hybrids dominated European demand, reinforcing the idea that electrification works best when it complements performance rather than replacing it outright.

Regional Reality Check

  • North America remained Porsche’s largest market with 86,229 deliveries, flat year-over-year and impressively resilient.
  • Europe (excluding Germany) fell 13 percent, while Germany itself dropped 16 percent, largely due to regulatory issues affecting the 718 and Macan.
  • China was the biggest concern, with deliveries down 26 percent to 41,938 units, reflecting a brutal luxury-car market and fierce EV competition.
  • Overseas and Emerging Markets held steady, down just 1 percent.

China’s slowdown matters, but Porsche appears content to wait it out rather than compromise pricing or brand positioning.

Looking Ahead: Less Noise, More Substance

For 2026, Porsche isn’t promising fireworks. Instead, it’s promising discipline. Production volumes will be adjusted to reflect the phase-out of combustion 718 and Macan models, while investment continues across combustion, hybrid, and electric platforms.

Customization will also play a bigger role. Programs like Exclusive Manufaktur and Sonderwunsch are expanding, tapping into buyers’ growing appetite for individuality—and higher margins.

In short, Porsche isn’t chasing trends. It’s refining its formula.

Sales may be down, but the message from Stuttgart is clear: the brand would rather sell fewer cars that people deeply want than more cars they merely tolerate. And as long as the 911 keeps breaking records, it’s hard to argue with that logic.

Source: Porsche

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