Mercedes CLA PHEV charging cable

The Mercedes-Benz CLA 250e is the plug-in hybrid version of the CLA, available as the four-door C118 Coupé and the X118 Shooting Brake. A 1.33-litre M282 turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine pairs with an electric motor mounted between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, driving the front wheels for a combined 160 kW (218 PS) and 450 Nm. The 15.6 kWh battery (approximately 11.5 kWh usable) delivers a WLTP electric range of up to 82 km on the Coupé and up to 80 km on the Shooting Brake for facelift cars, with earlier cars rated at 72 km and 70 km respectively, and electric-only running is possible to 140 km/h. Charging hardware differs by generation: cars built from 2020 to early 2023 carry a 7.4 kW single-phase onboard charger and reach 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds, while facelift cars from 2023 onwards have an 11 kW three-phase charger and take 7.6 seconds. Both generations support DC rapid charging at up to 22 kW via CCS2, covering 10 to 80% in around 25 minutes. The combined Type 2 and CCS2 inlet sits on the right rear flank.

Which cable, and which CLA you have

The first thing worth establishing is which onboard charger your car carries, because it changes what any cable can deliver. Registration date is the quickest guide: cars from 2020 to early 2023 are single-phase at 7.4 kW, and facelift cars from 2023 onwards are three-phase at 11 kW. The facelift also lifted the electric motor from 75 kW to 80 kW, so a spec sheet listing 80 kW confirms the later unit.

British homes take a single-phase supply, and most driveway wallboxes deliver up to 7.4 kW at 32A. A 22 kW Voldt® Type 2 cable is the right choice for both generations here. Its conductors are rated at 32A per phase, which is exactly what a single-phase car needs to reach its ceiling: a pre-facelift CLA draws the full 32A on one line for 7.4 kW and completes a charge in around one hour 45 minutes, and a facelift car does the same on a single-phase wallbox. An 11 kW cable carries 16A per phase, so on a single-phase supply it delivers 3.7 kW to either car and roughly doubles the time. Where the 11 kW cable comes into its own is a three-phase public post with a facelift car, where it carries the full 11 kW and finishes in about one hour 10 minutes. The 22 kW cable matches that at the same posts, which makes it the one cable that covers every combination of car and supply.

The inlet is on the right rear flank on both body styles. Reversing onto a driveway brings the port close to the wallbox and keeps the cable short and off the paintwork. For UK kerbside charging the port faces the road rather than the pavement, so a little extra length is worth having if you charge on-street. A 6-metre cable suits most home installations, an 8-metre cable covers public bays where the post is offset or the bay orientation runs the wrong way, and 10 and 15-metre options handle longer runs to a detached garage, workplace charging, or shared parking.

Charging away from a fixed wallbox

Away from a wallbox, what decides the charge rate is which socket happens to be in front of you. Voldt® makes two red CEE portables, and for the CLA 250e each earns its place for a different reason.

The Voldt® 11 kW portable charger plugs into a 16A red CEE socket, which is the type you will come across most often at workshops, farm buildings, marinas, and older commercial premises. A facelift CLA takes the full 11 kW from it and completes a charge in around one hour 10 minutes. A pre-facelift car, being single-phase, draws 16A from one phase for 3.7 kW and around three hours 25 minutes. For most owners this is the portable that matches the sockets actually available on the road.

The Voldt® 22 kW portable charger plugs into a 32A red CEE socket. Those are less widespread than the 16A type, but where one is available the difference is worth having: a pre-facelift CLA draws its full 7.4 kW and finishes in about one hour 45 minutes, and a facelift car takes its full 11 kW. If your car is pre-facelift and you regularly park somewhere with a 32A supply, this is the portable that unlocks the car's full rate.

At a blue 16A single-phase CEE socket, the standard fitting on UK caravan sites and campsite hookup pillars, the Voldt® blue CEE portable delivers 3.7 kW to either generation and completes a charge in around three hours 25 minutes. An evening plugged in at a holiday park covers it comfortably.

At a standard UK three-pin outlet, the Voldt® three-pin granny charger draws up to 2.8 kW within the limits of your ring main and socket condition, filling the battery in around four and a half hours. A built-in thermal sensor monitors the connection temperature and reduces the current automatically if the plug or socket begins to warm, which makes an overnight plug-in at a hotel or a relative's house a straightforward way to start the next day on electric.

One standard across the range

Voldt® charging cables carry CE, UKCA and TÜV certification. Both connectors are moulded as single pieces without glue or mechanical fasteners, so repeated plugging and unplugging doesn't loosen the housing over time. The IP67 enclosure is tested from -30°C to +50°C. Conductors are 100% copper with silver-plated contacts, and every cable is rated beyond 10,000 connection cycles. All Voldt® cables ship with a three-year warranty, 100-day returns, and free delivery across Europe.