Tesla wants to take on the Ford Transit, Merc wants a piece of Tesla.
Tesla’s expansion plan goes beyond just passenger vehicles with CEO Elon Musk confirming (more or less) their plans to offer fully electric vehicles such people movers and pick-ups as well as trucks and vans aimed at commercial uses.
To that final vehicle type, Mercedes-Benz already has countermeasures in place, according to The Detroit Bureau. While a next-generation Mercedes Sprinter van is on the cards for a 2018 introduction, project head Ulf Zillig said that an electric version will be offered should there be demand.
That safe statement is most likely a covering up the fact that the next generation of Mercedes commercial vehicles will have support for fully electric power and this is part of the German marque’s plan to shift their line-up, passenger or otherwise, to hybrid or fully electric within the next two decades.
Mercedes-Benz is due to unveil their first purpose-built EV at this year’s Paris Auto Show, with a production version planned to hit the selected markets either between late 2018 to mid 2019.
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