With all negotiations top secret, Mercedes and Rivian have announced an agreement for the development and production of next-generation electric vans in Europe. The star brand and the start-up will build a new production plant to manufacture two zero-emission commercial models.
The new generation of Mercedes eSprinter will arrive in 2023, but the star brand has new plans for its commercial division and, especially, in what affects the development of its electric vans. Because, Mercedes and Rivian have reached an agreement for the development of these zero emission models, an alliance that also includes the construction of a joint production plant in Europe.
The location is yet to be determined but they have already confirmed that it will be located in Central or Eastern Europe, sharing common assembly lines for two large 100% electric vans. The star’s will be based on Mercedes Vans’ new “VAN.EA” platform, while the American start-up’s will be based on the “Rivian Light Van” platform. The agreement also means exploring synergies that benefit the two manufacturers, for example, in the field of electric motors, batteries or control software.
Mercedes and Rivian electric vans will arrive in 2025
Mathias Geisen, director of Mercedes Vans, has pointed out that “From 2025, all vans based on our new architecture “VAN.EA” will be purely electric”, an architecture that will allow the development of medium-sized vans -the replacement of the Vito- and the size of the Sprinter. Future models will maintain the same current offer, vans for freight transport, for passenger transport and chassis and cabin adaptations with cargo boxes.
They will be equipped with three capacity levels of a new generation battery, which will provide more than twice the autonomy than currently, although the exact figure will vary depending on vehicle configuration.
The headquarters of Mercedes Vans is located in Düsseldorf, the largest production plant dedicated to commercial vehicles of the German brand, where the different body variants of the Sprinter and sprinter, and where the new generation of the brand’s largest electric van will also be manufactured. An option that completes an offer of up to five zero-emission commercials, adding to the eVito Tourer, EQV, eCitan and the TEQan upcoming release.