Mercedes-Benz to launch EV platform for vans

Mercedes-Benz has released pictures and details of a new dedicated battery-electric VAN.EA architecture that will underpin all future mid-size and large commercial vehicles from 2026, including a factory-developed EV camper and a luxury people-mover.

The modular platform is made up of three ‘blocks’ at the front, centre and rear of the vehicle.

The front block has been designed to package the electric powertrain and front axle, the centre section determines the vehicle’s length (and battery capacity) and the rear block is offered with or without a second electric motor to provide all-wheel drive.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the luxury people-mover platform, dubbed VAN.EA-P, has enough space between its axles for a large battery that will provide a range of more than 500km.

The state-of-the-art platform will also offer autonomous driving capability well beyond today’s vans, although it will only launch with Level 2 autonomy in 2026 before rolling out ‘eyes off the road’ Level 3 before 2030.

Interestingly, the next-generation Mercedes-Benz vans will abandon the Russian doll approach to styling, with the luxury MPV set to look radically different to the delivery vans.

The commercial van platform, known as VAN.EA-C, will focus on maximising driving range, cargo space and payload capacity.

Engineers say the commercial vehicles will offer its most sophisticated autonomous tech; Level 4 is set to launch before the end of the decade, allowing unmanned operation.

Developed with no carryover parts from current Mercedes-Benz cars or vans, the VAN.EA architecture has been designed, developed and engineered with reduced complexity in mind and increased economies of scales (read: higher profit margins).

Catering for markets not ready for the switch to electric, the new VAN.EA range will be sold alongside an updated version of the current combustion-powered Mercedes-Benz Sprinter line-up.

Mercedes is expected to detail the complete line-up closer to its launch in 2026, but has already declared that come 2030 more than 50 per cent of all the vans it sells globally will be battery-electric.

Since the eSprinter was launched in late 2019, Mercedes says it has sold more than 40,000 globally.

The company plans to offer the electric Sprinter in Australia when the next-generation model becomes available around 2024, but does already sell the battery-electric eVito here.

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