Mercedes-Benz’s lineup of vans will look fairly completely different by the last decade’s finish. The automaker has introduced that it’s going to launch a brand new battery-electric car platform in 2026, underpinning all future mid- and full-size fashions. The brand new VAN.EA structure will enable it to supply personal luxurious vans within the US for the primary time whereas increasing its portfolio of RV choices.
The brand new platform is comprised of three distinct blocks. The entrance block is similar in each variant, housing the electrical powertrain and entrance axle. The middle block determines the car’s size and is the place Mercedes installs the batteries. The automaker will supply the rear block in two variations – one with an electrical motor (giving a van all-wheel drive) and one with out.
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The corporate’s personal luxurious vans (VAN.EA-P) will fall into the mid-size phase, with a focused vary of “properly over” 310 miles (500 kilometers). It’s going to launch with SAE Degree 2 automated driving expertise, with Degree 3 deliberate by 2030. The platform can even enable the corporate to distinguish the outside styling between the passenger and industrial fashions.
It’ll design the industrial vans (VAN.EA-C) for performance, vary, cargo house, and payload capability, utilizing the scalable design for autos like ambulances and RVs. The vans can even launch with SAE Degree 2, however the firm hopes to understand Degree 4 expertise by the tip of the last decade.
Mercedes developed VAN.EA from scratch and particularly for battery-electric autos. It hopes that the brand new structure will scale back complexity and improve economies of scale because it searches for progress, together with specializing in the US market. It hopes to draw new clients with personal luxurious vans and an expanded portfolio of RVs with a brand new line of mid-size and full-size electrical camper vans.
The automaker will produce its new VAN.EA fashions alongside the combustion-powered Sprinter, which is able to proceed manufacturing relying on demand. The brand new electrical eSprinter that may launch within the US later this 12 months will get changed with a VAN.EA-based successor after the brand new platform launches in 2026. We should not have to attend lengthy for Mercedes to disclose the structure’s variants when the brand new platform arrives. Nonetheless, the corporate wouldn’t supply particular debut dates.