Mercedes-Benz Vans accelerates electric transformation with future plans for European facilities

8 September 2022, 15:38:59

Mercedes‑Benz Vans is adapting its European production setup as part of its strategy to attain leadership in electric mobility and to phase out fossil fuels. Mercedes-Benz Vans is already electrifying all of its model lines and offers all models in the mid-sized and large van segments with an electric drive.

By the middle of this decade, all newly introduced vans by Mercedes-Benz will be electric only. To this end, Mercedes-Benz Vans is developing a completely new, modular, all-electric van architecture called VAN.EA. The company plans to invest in the development of this platform for purely electric medium-sized and large vans as well as in the production sites.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Düsseldorf is the largest Mercedes‑Benz Vans production plant, and is already building the current generation of the Sprinter and eSprinter. Soon the next generation of the eSprinter will roll off the production line. Looking to the future, the open body styles (platform for body builders or flatbeds) of the large VAN.EA will be built there. The planned investments to make the necessary adaptations at the plant total around 400 million euros.

The Mercedes‑Benz plant in Ludwigsfelde has been building the open body type of the current Sprinter generation since 2018. The next generation of the eSprinter (open model) will also be produced in this plant soon. Beyond this, the company is also considering establishing the Ludwigsfelde plant as a competence centre for the individualisation of electric vans.

The adaptation of the production network for large all-electric vans will see an established plant from the Mercedes-Benz AG production network based in Central/Eastern Europe incorporated into the Mercedes‑Benz Vans production network. In the future, the large vans (closed model/panel van) based on VAN. EA basis will be produced here. Through this move, Mercedes-Benz Vans wants to take advantage of cost benefits that will enable it to secure its long-term competitiveness.

With its new VAN.EA (Van Electric Architecture), Mercedes-Benz Vans is accelerating its transformation into a provider with an exclusively electric product line-up. VAN.EA provides the basis for all electric vans brought to market by Mercedes-Benz in the mid-size and large segments as of 2025.

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