- Mercedes drove a VLE prototype from Stuttgart to Rome to highlight its efficiency and long range.
- It will have more than 311 miles of range in pure electric form, but there will also be combustion variants.
- The VLE, a larger VLS and dedicated cargo versions should start arriving in 2026.
The Mercedes-Benz VLE is the electric version of the upcoming V-Class replacement. It aims to set a new standard in for luxury and efficiency in a modern van. To highlight this, the manufacturer drove a prototype from its home base in Stuttgart to the Italian capital, Rome, with just two quick charging stops.
The VLE, which is still covered in camouflage in the photos since it hasn’t been revealed yet, drove 677 miles (1,090 kilometers), needing just two 15-minute charging sessions. The route took it through twisty mountain passes over the Alps, where Mercedes claims its rear-wheel steering helped it feel smaller around those extra-twisty hairpins. The entire trip was done with the air conditioning on and set to 71.6°F (22°C).
Mercedes doesn’t provide a detailed breakdown of the trip or the vehicle’s average efficiency, but it does note that this is one of many validation routes that its prototypes are driven on. The VLE has already driven from Stuttgart to the North Cape in Norway, and it’s planning another cold-weather trip to Sweden this winter. These tests are designed to see how the vehicle behaves over long distances and in changing climates.
The takeaway is that the VLE offers a lot more range than other electric vans, surpassing today’s EQV, which has a WLTP range rating of 222 miles (363 km). Mercedes says we can expect the vehicle to do “well over 500 km,” which is about 311 miles.
With the VLE, Mercedes is trying to distance the model from its existing roots. When attending the press unveiling of the Vision V concept, which previews the VLE, I asked Mercedes representatives what they could tell me about the production model. All they said was that it’s more like an S-Class than a V-Class, which was very obvious when looking at the concept. I actually got to sit inside and experience its amazing seats.
The VLE will ride on a new 800-volt platform called VAN.EA. There will be two versions: VAN.EA-P for passenger vehicles like the VLE and VAN.EA-C for dedicated commercial applications. Mercedes will launch both the VLE and a larger, more luxurious variant called the VLS, which will more closely mirror the opulence of the concept. We also can’t rule out a Maybach variant.
Mercedes will unveil the VLE sometime in 2026, and more models will follow. We don’t know exactly which models, but Mercedes intends to sell VAN.EA-based vehicles in the United States, where they will try to take sales away from the ubiquitous Chrysler Pacifica. It will need to cast a very different image to the Metris (U.S. name for the Euro V-Class), which American buyers never really appreciated (or bought).
There will also be combustion versions of all these vehicles, built on a variant of the platform called VAN.CA, which shares around 70% of its components with the pure EV version and can be assembled on the same production line. Mercedes should reveal more information about its electric vans closer to the official launch of the new model.