Mercedes to Electrify All Commercial Vans

As part of its electrification plan, Mercedes-Benz will add electric drive to all its commercial vans and it is starting by taking orders for the new eVito all-electric van.

Last year, Mercedes unveiled a prototype of its new all-electric van concept aimed at the delivery industry.

The eVito is a mid-size van with a 41.4 kWh battery pack for a range “around 150 km” (93 miles), according to the German automaker. With a 84 kW electric motor, the van can achieve a top speed of up to 120 km/h (74 mph).

While the company is beginning to take orders for the new electric van now, the vehicle will hit the market in the second half of 2018.In addition to the eVito, the company will introduce several new electric powertrains to other vans in 2019.

“We are convinced by the necessity of electric drive in our vans, especially in city centre applications,” said Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.”Electrification of the commercial fleet is not an end in itself, but follows the same principles as a classic drive when it comes to profitability. The eVito is the starting point and will be followed by the new-generation of our Sprinter as well as the Citan”

Daimler, Mercede’s parent company, has arguably been one of the most aggressive established automakers to pursue electrification. This commercial van effort is just the latest example of several electric vehicle programs at Daimler.

Mercedes-Benz has a whole new electric vehicle lineup coming starting in 2018 and they recently started to bring a new ‘modular battery powertrain’ to production for its Citaro bus.

Category: General Update, Green, News