The German brand has developed a new platform for its commercial vehicles that will support only electric motors and will be ready in 2026.
Mercedes is set to take the plunge after it announced that its strategy to convert its entire fleet to electric vehicles is being delayed by a year. All its cars and commercial vehicles are to be converted to electric. And in the case of its vans, the German brand is looking at using a new platform dedicated to electric vehicles.
It’s called VAN.EA, which is designed to use the company’s electric traction system. The move towards full electrification has already been taken, as the Mercedes E-Class will be the last car designed on a platform for the combustion engine. From now on, it will be models with this type of engine that will have to be adapted to use a platform designed for electric mobility.
Four platforms for all your models
The Mercedes model range will be based on only four platforms. VAN.EA is the last to arrive on the brand and will be intended for commercial vehicles. It will arrive in 2026 and from that date all models will be fitted on it. And this platform will be able to support a variety of sizes, battlements and configurations.
The platform is intended to form the basis for V-Class models and even a larger version of the Mercedes Sprinter. With VAN.EA, the use of electric traction systems will be optimized and the efficiency of combustion engines will be reduced in favor of the former.
The weight this platform would have to support would be increased by the batteries, although the maximum towing weight of each vehicle would be maintained. The maximum permitted weight for small vehicles will be 3,500 kg and for large vehicles 6,000 kg. Also, there will be different versions of the platform so that it can use different batteries and which can be used in different types of vehicles.
Light commercial vehicles intended for tourist use would use the VAN.EA-P variant. It will offer a range of up to 500 km and level 2 autonomous driving system. The creation of a larger camper model has also been considered. With it you can mount even larger models.
Mercedes’ plans are directed towards a market share in which 50% of the units sold will be electric. To do so, they have marked the year 2030. Vehicles with this platform will be manufactured at the Vitoria plant, the United States and various parts of Europe including China, so it will be adopted globally.
