Mercedes-Benz Vans: Sprinter Innovation Campus - Still Defining A Segment In Its Third Generation

December 4, 2017 by Mercedes-Benz Vans

•The new Sprinter makes the leap from vehicle to integrated system solution

•Various fields of innovation generate value along the entire value-added chain for vehicle fleets

•Sector-specific expertise provides the basis for a further expansion of use cases

The descriptions and information contained in this press kit apply to the international Mercedes-Benz model range and may vary according to country.

The Sprinter reinvented – still defining a segment in its third generation

The highlights and management quotations at a glance

•Integral system solution based on a holistic approach: Mercedes-Benz Vans is undergoing a transformation from a vehicle manufacturer into a provider of integral transport and mobility solutions. The new Sprinter is the first model series to embody the adVANce philosophy and put the first solutions from this future initiative on the road.

•Internet connection yields leap forward in efficiency: with state-of-the-art connectivity hardware and the Mercedes PRO connect services, the new Sprinter becomes part of the Internet of Things. Simpler fleet controlling and optimised communications between fleet manager and driver are among the innovations designed to make everyday work easier and more efficient.

•Scalable for every use case: the new generation of the best-selling large van boasts a further enhancement in versatility and adaptability. Body variants, wheelbases, load height, stowage concepts, interior versatility and infotainment systems are all precisely adaptable to the specific area of use.

•Sector-specific and individual: in tough everyday work at the construction site or as a prestigious vehicle in VIP shuttle service – the Sprinter is at home in many fields. And it is all set for the job in hand, as the diverse ex factory solutions come fully prepared for the given sector-specific requirements.

•Electrification of commercial fleets: Mercedes-Benz Vans' holistic strategy includes the systematic electrification of company fleets. The eVito, which became available for ordering some days ago, will kick off the process next year, followed by the eSprinter in 2019.

•'The Sprinter is the flagship of our commercial fleet and defines our understanding of an integrated system solution. Comprehensive industry-specific know-how, a vehicle that is adaptable to different transport requirements and innovative networking services add up to an all-embracing fully integral product offering. The Sprinter is the first embodiment of this new class of vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Vans and addresses the need for smart hardware,' says Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz-Vans.

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•'The integration into the Internet of Things opens up a wealth of new possibilities with regard to process optimisation measures and efficiency improvements. We will be offering initial networking services at the market launch of the new Sprinter and subsequently expanding our portfolio and continually adapting it to our customers' requirements and business models,' says Dr Ulf Zillig, overall Sprinter project manager at Mercedes-Benz-Vans.

Mercedes-Benz Vans: Sprinter Innovation Campus

The new Sprinter makes the leap from vehicle to integrated system solution

•The adVANce future initiative: shaping the transformation from a vehicle manufacturer to a provider of integrated transport and mobility services

•Symbol and initial exponent of the new approach: the Sprinter is the smart hardware for every use case and every sector

•Taking diversity to a new level: individualisation with more than 1000 different variants

•eSprinter: electric drive as a vital element of local emission-free integrated system solutions

Stuttgart - As an initial sneak preview of the new Sprinter, Mercedes-Benz Vans is showing at the Sprinter Innovation Campus in Stuttgart how the best-selling van is set to lead the large van segment into a new era. The adVANce future initiative which was presented in 2016 plays a central role here. Developments including new connectivity solutions lend it more concrete form and it will go into series production for the first time with the new Sprinter in the spring of 2018. For its third generation, the segment founder, best-seller and innovation flagship has been reinvented once again. Its full internet connectivity, unique scalability, silent electric drives, individual hardware solutions for the load compartment and its combination with sharing and rental services make the Sprinter the first integrated system solution. Integration of these innovations is geared exclusively to exploiting customer benefits in individual sectors and will be a boon to fleet managers and drivers in their daily work.

'The Sprinter is the flagship of our commercial fleet and defines our understanding of an integrated system solution. Comprehensive industry-specific know-how, a vehicle that is precisely adaptable to different transport requirements and innovative networking services add up to an all-embracing fully integral product offering. The Sprinter is the first embodiment of this new class of vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Vans and addresses the need for smart hardware,' says Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz-Vans.

Since its market launch in 1995, the Sprinter has been defining the large van segment in the most diverse fields. And satisfying customers in more than 130 countries. With sales to date in excess of 3.3 million units, the Sprinter is among the top-selling commercial vehicles and is the best-selling vehicle of Mercedes-Benz Vans, the globally successful van manufacturer.

Development focus: concentration on five fields of innovation

The adVANce future initiative stands for Mercedes-Benz Vans' transformation from a vehicle manufacturer into a provider of fully integrated transport and mobility solutions. The development of products and services is shaped by five fields of innovation: digital@vans is concerned primarily with connectivity and the digital networking of vehicles. solutions@vans focuses on the development of hardware solutions to make customers more efficient in their daily business. The area of rental@vans centres on innovative rental models, while sharing@vans pools new concepts in the field of public passenger transport. eDrive@vans embodies a holistic approach to electric mobility.

Sneak preview of the new Sprinter's attributes

The third generation of the Sprinter, which will be presented in February 2018, serves as an innovation flagship for an entire vehicle class, above all by virtue of completely new networking services. The internet connection hardware is deeply integrated as an integral part of the vehicle's infrastructure for the first time. This establishes an essential prerequisite for innovative sector-specific services and solutions and their ongoing development in the future.

'The integration into the Internet of Things opens up a wealth of new possibilities with regard to process optimisation measures and efficiency improvements. We will be offering initial networking services at the market launch of the new Sprinter and subsequently expanding our portfolio and continually adapting it to our customers' requirements and business models,' says Dr Ulf Zillig, overall Sprinter project manager at Mercedes-Benz-Vans.

New role for the fleet in keenly contested markets

The mega-trends of digitisation and urbanisation confront companies and fleet operators with extreme challenges. The market for courier, express and parcel services is characterised by tight delivery deadlines, flexible delivery windows and high cost pressures. Overnight delivery is standard in online retail, for example, while the delivery of goods on the day of ordering, e.g. in the food segment, is acquiring ever increasing market share.

In order to survive in this highly competitive environment, fleets need to be integrated more strongly than ever into corporate processes. This gives rise accordingly to a growing scope of applications for intelligent vehicles, which are required to play an even greater role in helping to keep companies with corresponding transport needs competitive and successful. Cutting-edge commercial vehicles are transforming from pure means of transportation into platforms for logistics concepts. While attributes such as reliability and economy remain integral to the Mercedes-Benz Vans brand, the future generation of vehicles additionally needs to offer new technologies for the most diverse use cases. Isolated solutions are giving way to a well-conceived integrated system solution.

Innovative developments here cover maximum flexibility and integration of the vehicle into the corporate IT infrastructure and inventory control systems. In this way, value is generated along the entire value-added chain for the fleet. The vehicle becomes part of the Internet of Things. The Sprinter fits the bill here as an integrated system solution.

Mercedes-Benz Vans: Sprinter Innovation Campus

Various fields of innovation generate value along the entire value-added chain for vehicle fleets

•Mercedes PRO connect: professional fleet management for small and medium-sized fleets, too

•A wealth of different variants: cutting-edge telematics solutions and well-conceived stowage concept shape the cab workplace

•Electric mobility: eVito available for ordering since a few days ago, eSprinter to follow in 2019

Stuttgart – Maximum networking, the ultimate in adaptability and electric drives: in these three fields of innovation, the third Sprinter generation represents more than the evolution of an established vehicle segment. Rather, it embodies a totally new concept and a new positioning. The vehicle becomes part of the Internet of Things, opens up additional potential applications by way of maximum scalability from body variants to telematics system and also demonstrates the strategy which Mercedes-Benz Vans is pursuing in electrifying commercial fleets.

Mercedes PRO connect: Digital control over the fleet

Networking and telematics solutions play an instrumental role in optimising a fleet. Efficiency improvements result, for example, from clearly organised and easily manageable controlling, which in turn may arise from clear vehicle tracking and the availability of all key economic data. Ongoing communication between fleet manager and driver and straightforward reminder functions for maintenance and repairs further facilitate everyday work. What was previously limited to isolated solutions for large-scale enterprises with correspondingly large fleets is now being introduced for medium-sized and smaller fleets. Following the launch of the 'Mercedes PRO Adapter' retrofit solution in September 2017, the ex factory solution fully integrated into the vehicle is now to be premiered on board the Sprinter.

The central services include vehicle status, vehicle logistics, fleet communications, maintenance management, accident recovery and a digital vehicle log, for example. All networking services are pooled under Mercedes PRO connect. The web-based service for fleet customers, from small trade enterprises to key accounts, links up the fleet manager with all vehicles and drivers in their fleet via the vehicle management tool. This enables jobs to be managed online and vehicle information such as location, fuel level or maintenance intervals to be retrieved virtually in real time. Clearly laid out and easy to use, the vehicle management tool provides the fleet manager with a complete overview of the fleet.

Intelligent networking and interpretation of the collected data enable new services which harbour direct added value for the customer. One of the most important topics relating to the future is networking of the load compartment. This enables driver and fleet manager to keep an eye on the items on board in real time on courier trips, for example. Mercedes PRO connect shares the data collected in the vehicle with the fleet managers via a cloud infrastructure.

Scalable and adaptable right down to the finer details

The versatility and adaptability of vehicles represent key criteria in meeting customer requirements in diverse industries. The Sprinter spans an unprecedentedly wide range of variants which goes well beyond different bodies, wheelbases or load heights.

The broad scope extends from the basic version for price-sensitive customers who value the Sprinter's proven virtues to the high-end variant featuring fine materials inside. The stowage compartment concept exemplifies the adaptability of the interior. A choice of open, closed or locking compartments in the roof and cockpit enables the configuration to be tailored precisely to the given requirements for the workplace behind the wheel. The central area of the instrument panel is dominated by intelligent infotainment systems. The new-generation telematics offering the ultimate in networking mark the top end of the product range. At the same time, a networked vehicle is also possible for users who decide against any form of infotainment system in favour of added stowage space.

'Modularity is not an end in itself - it is an absolute necessity. The scope of applications covered by the new Sprinter has never been so diverse. Our customers' requirements range from luxury buses for use as VIP shuttles to construction site vehicles that can be cleaned using high-pressure equipment if need be,' says Norbert Kunz, head of Sprinter product management.

Clear strategy: all commercial model series to be electrified

Mercedes-Benz Vans' integrated strategy also covers the area of electric drives. All commercial model series are to be electrified in the coming years, starting with the eVito, which became available for ordering a few days ago and will be available in the second half of 2018. The eVito will be followed by the eSprinter in 2019. Tailor-made integrated system solutions do not evolve solely on the basis of an electric vehicle, however. Individual operator concepts accord due consideration to the fleet size, the driving profile or the structural requirements in establishing a dedicated loading infrastructure at the company's site. The use of networking solutions and e-vehicle-specific financing and mobility concepts form part of the overall solution. This lowers the operating costs over the vehicle's entire life-cycle substantially and renders the eSprinter and eVito competitive in the given commercial or industrial context.

Electrification of the model range is accompanied by a paradigm change in development, with the focus shifting towards the customer co-creation model. Strategic partners such as Hermes are directly integrated into the ongoing development process. Logistics service provider Hermes and Mercedes-Benz Vans will be launching a pilot phase in Hamburg and Stuttgart at the beginning of 2018. The deployment of the electric fleet will subsequently be expanded to cover additional conurbations, taking in 1500 electric vans for parcel delivery operations. The knowledge and insights gained from this pilot project will be applicable in part to other industries, enabling a transfer of knowledge and technology which will ultimately benefit all customers.

Mercedes-Benz Vans: Sprinter Innovation Campus

Sector-specific expertise provides the basis for a further expansion of use cases

•Trades and service: networking solutions make everyday work easier

•CEP and online food retailing: intelligent delivery on the last mile

•Passenger transport:ideal vehicle to bolster public passenger transport

Stuttgart - The sectors and use cases in which the segment-founding Sprinter is at home are as diverse as the best-seller itself. At the Sprinter Innovation Campus three use cases and their special challenges served as examples to represent many other sectors for which the Sprinter offers tailor-made integrated solutions.

Trades/service: New solutions beyond the vehicle itself

Efficiency is acquiring ever greater importance in this traditionally important sector, too. Companies face an ever more serious shortage of suitably qualified personnel to deal with full order books and high growth rates. The efficient deployment of personnel and the digitisation of processes are becoming important success factors. By virtue of its networking capability, the new Sprinter forms part of a system which links job data with the vehicle and provides for efficient routing. The 'Fleet Communication' service enables tradespeople to be informed about job changes and duly rerouted while on the road, for example. Customer addresses for the next job are relayed directly to the system, ruling out misunderstandings in communications between vehicle coordinator and driver.

State-of-the-art shelving solutions provide for tidy and orderly load compartments. Driver and co-driver have a wealth of stowage facilities at their disposal which can be tailored to their everyday requirements. Cutting-edge, intelligent telematics systems which register the traffic situation practically in real time and adapt the routing dynamically offer substantial cost and time savings.

Service technicians and tradespeople use the Sprinter as a workshop and parts store on wheels. The In-Van Delivery & Return networking solution saves tradespeople valuable time which they can use for other customer orders. Parts which are no longer required are collected from the vehicle overnight by a logistics service provider without requiring any keys, and parts and tools required for the next day are placed in the vehicle.

CEP and online food retailing: vast growth market

Time pressure, crowded shops, the nerve-racking stress of finding a parking space and various other factors can quickly take all the enjoyment out of a shopping trip. To avoid such dilemmas, customers are increasingly turning to online shopping as a convenient alternative to the high street. Other reasons for growing turnover in the field of e-commerce are the easier comparability of product offerings and prices and ever shorter delivery times. The number of parcels sent worldwide highlights the exceptionally dynamic development of this sector in the recent past: while global parcel deliveries totalled around 44 billion in 2014, this figure rose by almost 48 percent in the space of two years, to 65 billion parcels (source: Pitney Bowes 2017 – Parcel Shipping Index). This trend is far from flattening out - a study by McKinsey indicates double-figure annual growth rates up to 2025. While this will boost turnover for courier, express and parcel (CEP) services, it also places them under growing pressure to improve efficiency.

Foods play an important role in this future scenario, as the volume of food ordered online is continually increasing in the core European and US markets which are of relevance to the Sprinter. McKinsey expects an annual growth rate in the order of 14.7 percent for online food orders in Germany up to 2020 and forecasts a corresponding increase of 6.0 percent in Great Britain and 10.5 percent in France.

Transporting such perishable goods poses major challenges for the industry, however. The ideal arrangement of the goods in the load compartment is a central consideration here, as different foods require different storage temperatures. Finally, the vehicle itself needs to be integrated into the logistics chain as effectively as possible. In view of the enormous cost pressures in the industry, the extensively automated logging and loading of goods will be imperative in future. In addition, the speed of delivery is becoming a key success factor in view of ever smaller time windows for delivery, as it determines a delivery company's economic efficiency.

As an intelligent integrated system solution, the Sprinter provides an ideal basis for meeting these diverse transport challenges in an effective manner. Vehicle features such as a low load compartment sill and an electric parking brake as well as state-of-the-art assistance systems make everyday work in food delivery operations markedly easier and boost efficiency. In a further development stage it will be possible to operate refrigerator vans with different climate zones, while intelligent networking solutions offer greater transparency for delivery companies and the end customer. An uninterrupted cold chain throughout the entire transport process can be verified, for example. In addition, a sophisticated load compartment system will avoid the need for parcel deliverers to spend a long time searching for items in the load compartment, thereby speeding up the delivery process. Integrated and efficiency-boosting industry-specific solutions are among the most important fields of development for the near future.

Passenger transport:comfortable for passengers, efficient for operators

The passenger transport segment involves different groups, each with their own specific requirements. Operators expect a reliable vehicle with which they can address the cost pressures in public and private passenger transport. For the driver the onus is on an attractive workplace which will enable them to carry out their everyday work efficiently and with the maximum possible comfort and convenience. As the third group making up the segment, passengers wish not only to be transported from A to B, but to make the best possible use of their travel time in the greatest possible comfort. Exuding a car-like quality feel in the cab and the rear compartment which is without parallel in its segment, the new Sprinter meets the diverse requirements and needs of fleet operators, drivers and passengers alike.

The networking services will give rise to totally new possibilities in future - by means of the Via on-demand ride sharing service, for example. The joint venture established by Daimler and Via aims to combine the Sprinter's new features with the Via algorithm and to further optimise the service. It will then be possible to request the Sprinter on demand by app.Submitted requests are displayed automatically in the telematics system, which automatically adapts the route.

The new Sprinter both receives and sends data. Another option for the future involves the use of a seat sensor which records the number of passengers and sends this information to the Via algorithm. Should less guests board the vehicle than were originally registered, the seat sensor will detect the subsequent free capacity. The resultant optimised planning means that additional people will be able to board the Sprinter, thus ensuring optimum capacity utilisation on the service. As such, the best-selling large van represents the ideal choice for public transport operations, combining a service offering adapted to the given requirements with economically viable operation.

The interior concept of the new Sprinter is also perfectly tailored to passengers' needs in terms of digitisation: USB charging facilities ensure an adequate power supply and a WiFi hotspot provides passengers with their own individual connections to the digital world.