Mercedes-Benz Reveals VAN.EA - New Scalable Architecture for its Electric Trucks

Starting 2026, all newly developed vans from Mercedes-Benz will be based on just one single innovative, modular and scalable architecture called VAN.EA, short for Van Electric Architecture. 

With VAN.EA, Mercedes-Benz Vans says its goal is to achieve a high range with an optimal battery capacity, which is directly related to vehicle weight and costs.

Starting 2026, all midsize and large vans based on the new modular architecture will be electric-only.

Mercedes-Benz Vans also announced plans to reorganise its global production network with its first pure electric light commercial vehicles (eLCV) plant in Jawor, Poland.

The plant aims to set new standards in terms of productivity, lean operations and sustainability for the manufacturing of premium eLCVs worldwide.

The production site for the VAN.EA-based large vans will be net carbon neutral just like all own plants of Mercedes‑Benz Vans. 

Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, says: "Starting 2026, we will introduce our purpose-built EV architecture VAN.EA. This enables us to consolidate our midsize and large vans down to only one architecture and significantly reduce the complexity of our product portfolio. Maximum added value for customers with sustainable profitability at the same time: VAN.EA clearly underscores our aspiration to be ‘Lead in Electric’.”

Andreas Zygan, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Development, adds: "According to the ‘electric-only’ strategy, VAN.EA is developed from scratch as a purpose-built electric vehicle, fully leveraging the advantages of the new technology. Our target of more than 50% BEV share by 2030 goes hand in hand with a significant reduction in CO₂-emissions across the entire lifecycle of new vans.”

Mercedes-Benz Vans has a market share of over 20% in Europe in 2022 for electric large and midsize vans.