Mercedes Begins Electric Vito E-Cell Van Production, Plans 2,000 for Europe

Mercedes Begins Electric Vito E-Cell Van Production, Plans 2,000 for Europe

By John O'Dell July 30, 2010

We mostly know Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. as a luxury-car maker, but the company is a big truck and van producer as well. The familiar Mercedes logo adorning the grilles of tens of thousands of commercial vehicles in Europe and Asia and has recently begun appearing on large Sprinter diesel vans in the U.S.

Now the company has begun production of an electric-drive version of its popular Vito light van - a project first announced back in February.

The Vito E-Cell, which is larger than Ford's upcoming 2011 Transit Connect electric van, is being built at Mercedes' Vitoria, Spain plant, alongside the conventional diesel combustion engine models that have been on the market since 1996.

Mercedes said it expects sales to begin in the fourth quarter.

While the Vito EV model is intended at least initially for the European market, we suspect Mercedes won't be far behind if Ford's Transit Connect EV takes off in the U.S. light delivery vehicle market.

The rationale for the vehicles is clean and simple: Electric power is best for small urban delivery vans that rarely travel far or fast, spend much of their time idling while being loaded and unloaded, go back to a central facility every night and are most cost-effective for the owners when fuel and maintenance costs are low.

Gas and diesel vans are a liability to fleet owners when fuel prices soar and are big contributors to urban noise and air pollution.

But electric models aren't penalized by their range limitations because of the typical short distances they're driven; they don't contribute to local noise or smog because they run silent and are off rather than idling when parked for loading or unloading.

Additionally, electric vans and trucks can be charged from centrally located stations - typically at the fleet's garage or dispatch center, and the cost of electricity is far lower than the cost of fossil fuels. Maintenance costs also are lower because an electric motor has few moving parts and doesn't require periodic maintenance and oil changes.

The electric vans cost more than their conventional counterparts, but because commercial vehicles usually are kept for many years, the lower fuel and maintenance costs can help pay down the price difference - in many cases eliminating it and saving the fleet owner money over the long term.

Mercedes figures the fuel cost for a Vito E-Cell van will be four to seven times less than for the diesel models,

The company said  it will put 100 Vito E-Cell vans into service this year and plans to build at least 2,000 more beginning in 2011. All will be front-wheel drive and both right- and left-hand drive models will be produced.

Range on a single charge of the van's 36 kilowatt-hour, water-cooled lithium-ion battery pack (90 percent, or 32 kwh is usable) is 130 kilometers (80 miles); top speed is limited at 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph) and maximum payload is 900 kilogram (1,980 pounds).

Mercedes says the batteries can be recharged from Level III, 380/400 volt systems, is six hours or less; overnight from a 230/240-volt line.

The initial 100 vans will be used by fleet customers in Berlin and fleet and individual businesses in Stuttgart and purchases will be subsidized by various government programs (Mercedes hasn't disclosed the electric van's list price).

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.