Mercedes-Benz is working on a brand-new electric van based around its new modular platform.
While Mercedes did technically have a passenger van on the market a few years back with the Metris, it’s working on a new model that will be far more luxurious. To that end, the automaker teased its new “VAN.EA”-based model. It doesn’t have a specific model name just yet, but it is coming to the U.S. with a launch window currently in 2026. The full reveal will happen sometime in the spring.
There’s not too much more information since Mercedes first detailed the VAN.EA architecture last year. We know it is a modular platform, meaning the company will develop multiple wheelbase lengths and battery capacities for different applications. Alongside a more luxurious passenger van, Mercedes says it will also develop commercial vans based around the same platform, as a complement to the existing eSprinter. Depending on a buyer’s specific needs, this platform will also offer front- or all-wheel drive powertrain options.
Essentially, the front and rear “drive modules” will be the same across all VAN.EA-based vehicles. The modular part comes in the “center module”, which will scale with the van’s length and accommodate different-sized battery packs. So larger commercial vans will get a larger (and longer) pack, and therefore a longer wheelbase, and vice-versa for a smaller cargo van or passenger van.
Despite Mercedes’ nondescript teaser, we do have some idea what this van will look like based on camouflaged prototypes the automaker revealed a couple months ago. That said, the camouflage is meant to throw casual observers off the trail a bit, and those cars will still be rough around the edges when it comes to final styling, as well as fit in finish.
We don’t have to wait too much longer to see these vehicles in their production-spec form, though. When it does arrive on the market, it will kind of, sort of, indirectly compete with the Volkswagen ID.Buzz — considering that’s the only electric van we can currently buy in the U.S. Believe it or not, this is actually a growing segment with rivals like the Volvo EM90 and the related Zeekr 009, though those two are only sold in the Chinese market right now.
