The reveal was attended by commercial vehicle journalists from around the world, who heard that the company is aiming at becoming more than a vehicle manufacturer, expanding into a total service logistics systems provider.
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| Fergus Conheady, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Ireland, with the new Sprinter. |
These included alternative and sustainable powertrains, autonomous driving elements, the ability to order bespoke variants to suit directly their own needs, a reduction in carbon footprints, connectivity all the way to the customer, and safety technologies levels to those available in passenger cars for the bus versions.
Breakout sessions on five major areas where variants of the Sprinter van are important outlined the relevant technologies which will be available in the new van or are in development for implementation in coming months and years.
Among these were parcel delivery, craft and construction, passenger transport and recreational vehicles — that last a sector which grew by 17pc across Europe between 2016 and 2017.
The use of a Mercedes-PRO Connect app to manage the functions and technologies related to each will be a major part of the new van's place 'as a node in the Internet of Things'. The new Sprinter will be permanently connected to the internet, Volker Mornhinweg, head of the Mercedes-Benz vans division, says. A WiFi hotspot will also be available within the connectivity options.
An electric version will be produced, joining the eCanter and eVito which are already in production from Daimler.
More than 3.4m Sprinters have been sold, and last year the outgoing version established another record with more than 200,000 units sold.
The full range of driver assistance systems that are part of the Mercedes-Benz passenger cars environment will also be available in the new Sprinter, in addition to specific ones for LCVs such as the side wind assistance.
The new Sprinter will be available in Ireland from the middle of the year.
