FoMoCo has plunged head-first in the EV van segment with great success, as the E-Transit has joined the ICE Transit atop the sales charts, but that is just the beginning. In fact, The Blue Oval has revealed a host of new EV vans in recent months, including the E-Tourneo Courier, E-Transit Custom, and E-Tourneo Custom, all while it scrambles to catch up with higher-than-expected demand for the E-Transit. However, it won’t be without plenty of competition in the near future, as Mercedes-Benz is currently working on its own stable of EV vans after a planned partnership with Rivian didn’t pan out. Now, the German automaker has revealed its ambitions in that regard in great detail.
For starters, all newly developed mid- and full-size Mercedes-Benz vans will be built on the automaker’s modular and scalable VAN.EA (Van Electric Architecture) platform starting in 2026, which has been built from the ground up as a dedicated EV architecture. This move greatly reduces complexity compared to the automaker’s current van lineup, and maintains the same type of offerings at the same time.
From there, Mercedes-Benz can manipulate its new platform to accommodate a wide berth of vans, including what it calls “private” vehicles, or those that are targeted at lifestyle-oriented customers or leisure-active families. Meanwhile, it will continue to offer a wide range of commercial vehicles such as courier, express, parcel delivery, ambulance, flatbeds, and recreational units based on the same platform as well.
What’s particularly interesting about this strategy is the fact that Mercedes plans to sell these new EV vans not only in Europe – but also China and the U.S., where it sees great potential for growth – giving the E-Transit a legitimate future competitor.
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for ongoing Ford news coverage.
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