Mercedes to make Vito 'sidebags' standard?

The Mercedes-Benz Vito has become the first van in the world to score a five-star safety rating, but there is just one problem: the side and curtain airbags that elevated it from a four-star vehicle to a five-star vehicle are not standard -- they're an $800 option.

However, after the announcement of the milestone result at the Alfred Hospital road trauma centre in Melbourne today, the boss of the Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles division, Ken Matthews, a 40-year veteran of the business, conceded the extra airbags should become standard.

When Matthews was asked why the life-saving technology was still an option, he said: "I think it will gradually become standard but there are still some commercial aspects of technology like this. Not all our competitors have it so that puts us at a price disadvantage."

However, later in the interview, Matthews expressed a desire to make it standard sooner rather than later.

"We're going to consider whether we should do that [make side and curtain airbags standard] and make one big step and say 'yes, we'll do it'," he said.

"We could [fit side and curtain airbags] to every Vito from October-November production, which would mean we would see it in showrooms from January," he said.

Matthews said the number of customers who ordered a Vito van with the extra airbags since they became available in January 2009 was "negligible". He said fleet buyers negotiate prices "to the dollar" and not everyone is prepared to pay a premium.

When asked who makes the decision to fit the extra airbags as standard, Mercedes-Benz bosses in Australia or Germany, Matthews said: "No, it's down to myself and Campbell [the boss of Mercedes-Benz vans in Australia]."

When Matthews was asked if he thought the extra airbags would be standard from the next production date, he said:  "My gut feel is that we'll probably tick the box and make them standard. In some ways it's nearly incumbent upon us to do that. Since we've put the hard yards in to get it to the five-star rating, we shouldn't just sit back.

"If we let the market dictate it, we might only get a 10 to 15 per cent take-up rate. But if we tick the box and say 'let's do it', that'll make it happen a lot quicker."

The Mercedes-Benz Vito became the first commercial vehicle in the world to gain a five-star safety rating (click here) after it was tested by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) with a score of 32.66 out of 37. Only three other vans are close with an "acceptable" four star rating: the Hyundai iLoad, Volkswagen Transporter and Volkswagen Caddy.

The majority of vans on sale in Australia are either untested or score "marginal" three star ratings or worse. Find out more ancap.com.au

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