NEXT STAGE: New in 2023

The luxury automaker will introduce a battery-powered version of the workhorse Sprinter van to the U.S. and Canada in the second half of 2023. The eSprinter, built on Mercedes' Electric Versatility Platform, will be offered with three battery options and can be configured as a delivery van, flatbed truck, people mover or ambulance. Mercedes initially will bring the longest-range version of the cargo van to the U.S. The high-roof, long-wheelbase model has a 113-kilowatt-hour battery that delivers a driving range of up to 249 miles, based on WLTP estimates.

The next generation of the battery-powered commercial vehicle is delayed. U.S. output of the next generation will begin in summer 2028, a shift from late 2026, according to a person briefed on the matter, and European production of the eSprinter will be similarly delayed.

Mercedes will build the next version of the eSprinter on a modular new platform called VAN.EA (MB Vans Electric Architecture). That architecture will yield medium and large electric commercial vans starting from the middle of the decade possibly with the Mercedes EQV passenger van.

Production of that next-generation eSprinter at Mercedes' Dusseldorf, Germany, factory is delayed nearly two years, with a new start date of first quarter 2028 from May 2026, said the source, who requested he not be identified.

Additional eSprinter production at a new electric-only van factory in Jawor, Poland, that was scheduled to start in November 2026 has been pushed back to summer 2027.