Mercedes-Benz Expect Electric Sprinter Van in 2018

With hybrid and electric vehicles growing rapidly in popularity, Mercedes-Benz’s next generation of their hugely popular Sprinter utility van could be released with a completely electric powertrain. According to head of project VS30 at Mercedes-Benz Ulf Zillig, this will not be a guaranteed option, however Mercedes is currently keeping both batteries and autonomous driving features in mind when designing the trucks.

Royalty Free Photo

Urban eTruck

In Summer 2016, Mercedes announced plans for the Urban eTruck, a heavy-duty, short-haul concept vehicle which is designed with urban deliveries in mind. An electric vehicle with a 124-mile single-charge range, the truck will deliver 8,100 lb-ft of torque to the back wheels, and is a clear indicator of Mercedes-Benz’ entrance into the electric truck and van market. Unsurprisingly, with the Mercedes Sprinter van being one of the most popular vans for commercial use, it makes sense for Mercedes-Benz to release an electric version of the van with hybrid vehicles now increasing in popularity thanks to their cheap running costs for both businesses and individuals.

Expected Release

Although there has not yet been a confirmation on whether or not the next Sprinter generation will be an all-electric model, there are many rumors which suggest that it would make sense for this to be Mercedes-Benz’s next move. Updates on whether or not an electric or hybrid Sprinter van is going to be made available are expected as soon as 2018.

Difficult Development

Although electric utility vans definitely appear to make sense in an age where road pollution is so important and everybody wants to keep costs down as low as possible, in reality, they have been so far difficult to successfully develop. For example, in 2012, Azure Dynamic went bankrupt, causing production of the Ford Transit Connect Electric delivery van to be halted. And, in the same year, Bright Automotive, which made extended-range plug-in utility vehicles, shut down, saying that the U.S. Department of Energy was taking too long to pay promised loans. The year after, production of all-electric delivery trucks was halted by Smith Electric.

Competition

The rumors surrounding a new electric Mercedes-Benz Sprinter are not on their own, with competition soon to be available. The news came not long after Elon Musk announced last summer that Tesla Motors were planning to soon enter the electric van market with a new electric utility vehicle, which is similar to the Sprinter and believed to ride on the same or similar chassis as the Tesla Model X SUV. This new vehicle is part of the master plan for Tesla and is also expected to benefit from either semi- or fully-autonomous driving technology, however, although development is currently in the advanced stages, it’s not expected to be released before 2020.

After their success with the Urban eTruck prototype, it’s no surprise that Mercedes-Benz are taking their venture into the electric van market to new heights by bringing out a new, all-electric generation of the popular Sprinter van. Expected to be released next year, the van will be a pioneer of a new generation of electric and hybrid utility vehicles.