Next-gen Mercedes Sprinter is ready to rock... literally

This might be the strangest Mercedes teaser yet – the all-new Sprinter van, hewn from a single piece of rock.

At least it looks like rock; Mercedes says it’s actually a ‘stone-look sculpture’. Either way, it gives us our first look at the fourth generation of the Sprinter.

What we can see from the sculpture is the typically large grille with Mercedes’ three-point star badge and what looks like a relatively long and flat bonnet. The Sprinter is the firm’s largest van and while Mercedes does give dimensions of the sculpture (6,500mm long, 2,750mm tall, 2,500mm wide), the finished van is likely to be significantly different in size. 

The new Sprinter will sit on an entirely new architecture: VAN.EA for the all-electric versions and VAN.CA for combustion-engined vans. The upcoming VLE and VLS ‘grand limousines’ (or MPVs), will also sit on VAN.EA, although Mercedes says the platform will allow for a clear differentiation between the electric Sprinter and its people-carrier counterparts. 

Early tests of the VAN.EA platform have been impressive, with the smaller VLE model, covering 683 miles after two 15-minute charging stops. Up to 300 miles of range seems possible with VAN.EA, but we’ll have to wait and see if that equates to a better range than the current eSprinter, which manages 279 miles from a 113kWh battery. 

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The VAN.EA and VAN.CA platforms will be modular, meaning they’ll be able to cater to a variety of needs with different bodystyles. Mercedes says customers will have a choice of “numerous lengths, wheelbases and weight variants”, as well as conversions to suit delivery companies, refrigerated vehicles, emergency services, workshop vehicles and campervans. 

The first Mercedes to make use of VAN.EA will be the VLE in 2026, followed by the larger VLS. We don’t expect the next Sprinter to arrive until late 2027 at the earliest.

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