Construction site to luxury

This is how fundamentally Mercedes wants to clean up vans

Mercedes wants to finally make its e-vans suitable for mass production.

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

They may be conspicuous by their absence at the IAA in Hanover, but there are literally big innovations on the horizon for Mercedes vans. The Swabian space travelers are finally getting their own electric modular system - and want to become high-flyers.

When Andreas Zygan thinks of the North Cape, he doesn't think of the Northern Lights or the midnight sun. He mainly thinks of the 3,000 kilometers that lie between Stuttgart and the northernmost point in Europe that can be reached by car - and what can happen along the way.

Zygan is the chief developer of the Mercedes vans and has embarked on a special adventure this summer: Two years earlier than usual, he released his prototypes from the sheltered habitat of the factory's own test tracks into the real world and onto a long-distance drive throughout Scandinavia, while at home, as in Mission Control, the rest of the developers tracked all the measured values in real time and constantly sent new software versions to the running prototypes.

Andreas Zygan, head developer of the Mercedes vans

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes is lagging behind
That was risky, but it saved time. And Zygan doesn't have much of that right now. Because the Swabians are lagging behind when it comes to vans. They have long since electrified the V-Class, the Vito and the Sprinter, and all model series have just undergone a more or less thorough facelift. However, poor charging performance, moderate ranges and little power make it difficult to keep up with the electric competitors. And completely detached from the drive system, Mercedes of all companies has to let Asian up-and-comers steal the show.

More and more very high earners in China, Japan and Korea would rather be chauffeured through the traffic jam in a Lexus LM, Toyota Alphard, Denza D9 or, more recently, a Volvo EM90 than in an S-Class. And it will take the skill of some resourceful and windy refiners to ensure that the V-Class can still play in the luxury league as a fake Maybach.

Into the future with skill
But that will soon be a thing of the past, Zygan promises, and hopes for the big breakthrough that will require taking a risk in development: Van.EA is the acronym on which his hopes rest. It stands for the new architecture, designed for the first time specifically for electric drive, on which the successors to the V-Class, Vito and Sprinter, which they have just tested on the way to the North Cape, are to be built step by step from 2026.

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

(Bild: Mercedes-Benz)

This platform consists of three modules that are to be combined with each other. The front module is always the same. At the rear, there are either running axles or, for the overdue all-wheel drive in the EQV, motorized axles with a significant increase in power. In between, there is a differently configured battery module with 800-volt batteries for a range of more than 500 kilometers at best, Zygan explains the plan. As with the next CLA in the passenger car world, there is also the new MB.OS operating system, which bundles many functions on a few central computers and, with over-the-air updates, creates the basis for assistants through to autonomous driving and for infotainment that is better than in the S-Class today.

Bigger difference between private and commercial
But Van.EA is not just about new technology. With the new platform, Zygan's boss Mathias Geisen is also planning a different positioning: commercial and private models are moving further apart, promises the top space driver in Stuttgart, and thus wants to further reduce the risk of confusion between blue overalls and business suits. This is why there will not only be a new nomenclature, but also a new design that is not only differentiated by the chrome trim, but right down to the sheet metal.

At the top of the list is a new luxury variant, with which the V-Class aims to become the wow class and win back the high society - with plenty of paint and leather, chrome and light tinsel and equipment that makes it the S-Class among vans.

New V-Class ups the ante
Not much of this can yet be seen in the prototype. But if you accompany Zygan on a short drive, you can at least feel some of it. With a significantly wider track, the V-Class is more solid on the road, appears much more manageable, irons out even the bad roads on the driveway at the factory like a linen tablecloth and, above all, it has significantly more power than the previous EQV. Zygan is still holding back on technical data. But where the current model runs out of steam at 140 km/h, the prototype of the successor gets a second wind.

More powerful drives, long-range batteries, fast charging, smart infotainment and, for the civilian versions, finally as much luxury as befits a Mercedes or perhaps even a Maybach - of course everything will be nicer and better for customers. But it will also be cheaper for Mercedes. With a platform for the V-Class, Vito and Sprinter, the Swabians want to reduce the complexity and with it the number of variants by around half. But Zygan and Geisen promise: The customer should not feel any of this. (Benjamin Bessinger/SPX)