The Mercedes-Benz A-Class will reportedly be axed by 2025. Yes, Stuttgart’s smallest model has just a few years left, according to German media…

Earlier in 2022, Mercedes-Benz confirmed plans to “reduce the number of model variants” in its next-generation compact range from the current seven to four as part of its bid to reposition the brand for higher profitability and increased electrification. Based on the latest reports out of Germany, the A-Class range will be one of the casualties.

As reported by Autocar, German business newspaper Handelsblatt claims the A-Class badge will be retired at the end of the W177 hatchback and V117 sedan models’ lifecycles in 2025, with no direct successors planned. The A-Class is, of course, due a facelift relatively soon, with the refreshed version likely to be revealed before the end of 2022.

Interestingly, the publication furthermore claims the B-Class will be put out to pasture around the same time, though it suggests the Stuttgart-based automaker will produce successors to the CLA (both in sedan and shooting brake guise), GLA and GLB.

Mercedes-Benz isn’t the only German firm reportedly re-examining its compact-vehicle strategy, with Audi having already confirmed it has no plans to replace the current A1 Sportback and Q2, and BMW apparently reviewing the future of the 1 Series and 2 Series Gran Coupé.

Looking back at the Mercedes-Benz A-Class

The original A-Class was introduced in 1997 as an MPV-shaped hatchback, before a second-generation (and similarly styled, as pictured above) model hit the market in 2004. The third iteration – which debuted in 2012 and is pictured below – was entirely reinvented as a more dynamically designed hatchback conceived to take on the likes of the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3.

The current fourth take on the A-Class arrived on the global stage in 2018, offered in five-door hatchback and four-door sedan (including a long-wheelbase Z177 version for China) forms.

In South Africa, the A-Class serves as the entry point to the Mercedes-Benz passenger-vehicle range, with prices starting at R661 009 for the hatch and R691 858 for the sedan. There’s also a 225 kW Mercedes-AMG A35 hatch (R943 903) and sedan (R977 296), while the 310 kW A45 S hyper hatch will set you back a cool R1 233 243.