Mercedes-Benz unveils the 2024 eSprinter

• The battery pack has a capacity of (usable) 113 kWh.

• Two levels of power will be offered : 134 or 201 hp.

• The first eSprinters are expected later this year.

The personal vehicle sector is clearly going electric, but what about the commercial vehicle’s side of the industry? Already, electrically powered vans have begun to hit the streets in North America and it is only the beginning. With online shopping and remote work, delivery services have heir work cut out for them.

And Mercedes-Benz must be one of the brands involved in this category of vehicles, and the upcoming arrival of the Mercedes-Benz eSprinter is certainly good news for any business that needs a fuel-efficient, yet effective work vehicle.

It’s all well and good to offer a zero-emission commercial vehicle, but to be worthwhile, it must also meet the needs of its users. For those interested, the new vehicle will arrive in the second half of 2023 in Canada and the U.S., with the automaker initially focusing on the most “autonomous” versions in terms of the distance between recharges.

The first version to be marketed in Canada will be a long van with a high roof and a battery pack with a capacity of 113 (usable) kWh and an estimated range of 400 km according to the WLTP calculation cycle and 500 km according to the WLTP urban calculation cycle. So, we can expect a somewhat reduced range when the vehicle gets re-evaluated by the North American government agencies in this sense.

The Mercedes-Benz eSprinter is equipped with a single rear-mounted electric motor, which can be offered in two power levels: 100 or 150 kW (134 or 201 hp), while maximum torque is 295 ft-lb. The vehicle’s charging capacity is 115 kW, which allows the van to recharge its battery from 10 to 80 percent of its charge in about 42 minutes.

Mercedes-Benz developed its commercial van in three modules. The first module at the front contains all the high-voltage components and remains the same for all possible vehicle configurations. The van can be marketed with several body types. Clearly, the automaker will offer other battery levels down the road, but for now, the 113-kWh unit is the one that for the first North American eSprinter.

The center module is where the battery is bolted to the underside of the vehicle, as is the case with the vast majority of EVs on the road. Not surprisingly, this very heavy module lowers the center of gravity, which improves handling. Finally, the third module combines the electric motor with the rear axle, and this is also common to all variants of the vehicle. The eSprinter weighs in at 4.25 tons!

Inside, the dashboard is the same since 2018, but the manufacturer has also thought about the users with the integration of the MBUX voice activation system, as well as the navigation system that can calculate the best route to save maximum energy in the battery.

The first examples of the eSprinter will be delivered from the second half of 2023, as 2024 models. And from 2025, the German manufacturer will exclusively sell electric vans. In short, the reign of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter turbodiesel is clearly coming to an end… on our shores anyway!