What’s next for Mercedes‑Benz Vans?

2025 has promised the ‘dawn of a new era’ for Mercedes-Benz Vans as the German giant prepares to introduce its long-awaited Van Electric Architecture (VAN.EA). The catch? You’ll need to wait until 2026…

Looking ahead

Mercedes has announced that its newly developed VAN.EA platform will be available for purchase from 2026, bringing with it ‘a completely new era of vans’. Capturing trending buzzwords from ‘modular’ to ‘scalable’, the German automaker’s new platform will provide the framework on which all its future medium and large vans will be built upon.

Now, the hunt for scalable modularity is in vogue for a reason. As with Kia’s upcoming PBV lineup, and the futuristic Renault + Volvo = Flexis equation, Mercedes’ consolidated platform will allow for reduced construction complexity throughout the purpose-built EV range. This efficient, flexible approach is set to unlock increased economies of scale and portfolio standardisation which should — fingers crossed — reduce costs for the end user.

And it doesn’t stop there. The focus on efficiency should also translate into the vans’ on-road performance: as the resulting chassis aerodynamics, drivetrain capabilities, and vehicle weight should combine to achieve a greater EV driving range. While results of the recent long-distance prototype testing remain under lock and key for now, we reckon any breakthroughs in reducing range anxiety could put Mercedes well on track to reach its goal of becoming a leader in the electric mobility space — but we’ll have to wait and see.

New year’s revolution

So, what’s happening in 2025? First up, in spring we’ll get our first real look at a Mercedes VAN.EA showvan. This is promised to be the ‘vision of a luxurious, highly elegant, and spacious limousine’, and is expected to come in the form of either a new eSprinter style large van, or a reworked eVito medium van (the latter gets our vote based on the prototype images so far). Reaching the decadent heights of Clive Sutton’s First Class Sprinter may be a tall order, but with the full reveal (sans camouflage prototype livery) assuring a view into how high-end customer demands can be met, consider us intrigued.

From there, we expect the range, and different potential variant details, to be fleshed out as the year rolls on, and there’s plenty of scope for this to happen. Within the VAN.EA remit, a clear divider is laid out between the luxury people-carrying offerings under the VAN.EA-P banner — which Mercedes claim will define their own top-end segment — and the commercially-focused workhorses defined as VAN.EA-C.

Giving a further peak behind the curtain at the kind of versatility we can expect: it has been confirmed that both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants will be available across the VAN.EA platform. However, no matter how many wheels propel the van, the latest version of Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS), an 800-V charging setup, and a 22 kw AC charger seem to be guaranteed. Oh, and there won’t be a diesel engine in sight, this is 100% an electric-only affair.

And that’s about all we know for now. In the words of the German brand: this may only be a glimpse, but ‘there is much more to come’, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for updates as the year rolls on.

Hero image credit: Mercedes-Benz