The new all-electric powered Mercedes-Benz eSprinter – the high-capacity, high-spec van derived from the popular Sprinter, three times winner of the highly-coveted Continental Irish Van of the Year Award – has arrived into Ireland.
With its mid-range eVito stablemate, the eSprinter’s arrival puts Mercedes-Benz in the competitive position of having a twin-platform model offering which its Irish CV sales manager Fergus Conheady states: “Will appeal to those large fleet operators, trades and maintenance personnel, utilities, vehicle hire and parcel delivery specialists whose operations involve extensive movements within city and built-up environments and whose preference is for vans that satisfy the concerns of a more eco-aware society”.
eSprinter
Reflecting Mercedes-Benz commitment to electrification, the new eSprinter complements and extends their existing Sprinter range. With front-wheel drive and a standard wheelbase, its specifications include an overall length of 6088mm, payload of 1045kg, kerb weight of 2455 kg, gross vehicle weight of 3500kg and a high roof design for maximum spaciousness. Cargo volume is an unrestricted 11cubic metres, made possible by positioning its batteries beneath the floor.
Its electric power unit delivers a peak output of 85 kW and up to 300 Nm torque. A useable battery capacity of 35 kWh (installed: 41 kWh) delivers usable factory-quoted figures of 120kms. It can be charged from 10% – 80% in just 70 minutes or over a more extended 6 hours using a standard 7.4 kW street/fuel station charge point. Maximum speed can be configured to suit the task in hand – top speed can be set at either 80 km/h, 100 km/h or 120 km/h.
eVito
Perfectly configured for city-centre use, the eVito has a battery capacity of 41.4 kWh, a range of around 150 km, top speed of up to 120 km/h with 85 kW output and up to 300 Nm torque, a payload of around 1016 kg and cargo volume of up to 6m3. In terms of top speed, the eVito can be configured with two options: a maximum speed of 80 km/h in city traffic and urban areas while conserving energy and increasing range, and a higher 120 km/h in circumstances when more speed is needed.
One wheelbase is offered: a long-wheelbase version with a total vehicle length of 5,140 mm, with a maximum payload of 1,016 kg and a maximum gvw of 3,200 kg – and a battery located beneath the vehicle – operators have the unrestricted usability of the entire load space.
Competitive
Inclusive of a €200 VRT charge and exclusive of VAT, the larger eSprinter comes on the market from a competitive €49,995, followed by the mid-size eVito priced from €39,995. Both the registered electric vans qualify for a grant of €3,800.
Giving customers – especially large corporates – a platform on which to demonstrate corporate social responsibility, the eSprinter and eVito represent the product of a €500m investment programme by Mercedes-Benz to create vehicles that ‘counteract the problems of increasing urbanisation, growing traffic levels, stricter air purity requirements and demands for sustainable mobility,’ Fergus Conheady noted.
“Low-emissions, reliable and flexible, the new eSprinter and eVito have all of the attributes by which fleet operators measure their vehicles,” Conheady added. “Proven and spacious performers, they have the specifications that equip operators to demonstrate their responsible eco-friendly credentials,” he said.