Whether it’s big sedans or SUVs, Mercedes-Benz is one of the top names in luxury vehicles for people who can’t be bothered to drive themselves. And now the automaker is trying to apply that expertise to a very different form factor.
Mercedes is launching a new generation of vans that are also its first to be designed from the ground up for electric powertrains, while still performing all of the functions of its current van lineup. But before it shows the everyday delivery vehicles and hotel shuttles, Mercedes is heralding the arrival of these new vans with the Vision V — a concept vehicle that shows just how luxurious a van can be.
The Vision V is a chauffeur-driven living room on wheels. A partition housing a massive television separates the driver’s compartment from the rear of the vehicle, where instead of the usual multiple rows of seats, two reclining thrones, a host of speakers and a massive screen provide an immersive audiovisual experience. It’s the luxury vehicle you didn’t know you wanted.
An opportunity for something different
Luxury minivans are popular in Japan and China, but anything with sliding doors generally isn’t considered fancy enough in the United States and Europe. With its next-generation vans, based on new modular architectures called Van.EA (for electric vans) and Van.CA (for combustion vehicles), Mercedes hopes to change that with a van “designed as a chauffeur-driven limousine,” Benjamin Kaehler, chief engineer for Mercedes-Benz Vans, told Digital Trends and other media at a preview event near the automaker’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
And why shouldn’t a van play that role? If you’re going to be driven around in something, it might as well be a big box on wheels with plenty of interior space. They’re already used as hotel and airport shuttles, sometimes with elaborate interior upgrades via the aftermarket. And SUVs have shown that it’s possible to make the transition from workaday vehicle to VIP transport.
A plain boxy van doesn’t exactly have the brawny caché of an SUV, though, or the refinement of classic luxury sedans like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. So while Mercedes was able to cram the Vision V concept full of high-end features, designers had to create a decidedly un-van-like exterior to pique curiosity about what’s inside.
A glitzed-up van
After signing confidentiality agreements and checking credentials, a false wall lifted up, Hollywood-style, and the gaggle of journalists was ushered into a hidden room where, bathed in harsh studio lighting and special-effects smoke, the Vision V awaited.
This is the type of vehicle that deserves such a dramatic introduction. It’s definitely a van, but with its sloping roof, defined character lines in the body sides, and a simple tailgate with a circular lighting element that recalls Star Trek impulse engines, it’s also definitely futuristic.
the Vision V proudly wears an ostentatious grille and bright 24-inch wheels.
But the Vision V also hits all of the luxury-vehicle marks. At a time where many automakers are abandoning chrome for blacked-out exterior trim, the Vision V proudly wears an ostentatious grille with a mirror finish, along with equally bright 24-inch mono-block wheels similar to what you’d normally see on Mercedes’ ultra-luxury Maybach models. The traditional hood ornament ties the Vision V to Mercedes’ luxury cars, as do the segment headlights that arc up and away from the grille, as well as twin power bulges in the hood.
One thing the Vision V has that current Mercedes luxury cars don’t is electrochromic glass. Taking things up a notch from heavy window tinting, this tech can switch the side glass (as well as the interior partition) from transparent to opaque instantly, providing maximum privacy for rear-seat passengers.
Are you not entertained?
The doors slid open (thanks to an attendant operating a remote control, this is a concept car after all) to reveal a fever dream of an interior. The two rear seats were comprised of tube-like elements, accompanied by equally strange-looking speaker assemblies (there are 42 speakers in all) and a ceiling lamp. Apple Store white and polished aluminum were the colors of choice — accented by the color-changing ambient lighting that’s become a signature feature of recent Mercedes interiors.
Once situated, a process that required shrinking wrapping my shoes and having one of the Vision V’s attendants lay a protective cover over the seat (even blue jeans could stain the one-off leather upholstery, apparently) it was surprisingly comfortable, given the unorthodox design. Mercedes was able to build in lounge chair-levels of recline thanks to the amount of space available, although headroom was a little tight with the seat in its upright position. Integrated seatbelts allow the seats to be reclined with belts fastened, but it’s unclear if recumbent passengers aren’t a part of the regular crash-test regimen.
The cabin of the Vision V felt like a cozy lounge without being claustrophobic.
The seats face a 65-inch 4K screen that rises up in front of a limo-like partition that separates the front seats from the rest of the vehicle. It makes for glorious gaming and movie-watching experiences that blow away the comparatively-tiny screens available with today’s rear-seat entertainment systems. The images even overflow from the screen onto the ceiling and door panels —that hard-to-clean white upholstery makes a great projection surface — and the screen can also be partly raised to serve as a relaxing digital fireplace or an oversized “Now Playing” bar.
While the interior is complete down to the last detail, the Vision V is still very much a concept car rather than a production-ready vehicle. The fans needed to keep all of its electronics cool whirred loudly throughout my time in the van (while still keeping the ambient temperature uncomfortably warm), and the vehicle wasn’t moving.
Still, it’s easy to see the potential of this idea. The cabin of the Vision V felt like a cozy lounge without — despite the amount of stuff crammed into it — feeling claustrophobic. It seemed like a great place to be while stuck in traffic with someone else driving.
Mechanicals are still a mystery
Mercedes emphasized that the Vision V isn’t just another fantastical concept car, and that it really is evaluating building a production luxury van with similar features based on its new Van.EA and Van.CA platforms. But while the first vans based on those platforms are scheduled to debut in 2026, Mercedes hasn’t provided many technical details.
It’s worth noting that Van.EA was announced first — Van.CA was only announced recently as Mercedes pulled back from its more ambitious EV goals — and the automaker says both platforms share 70% of components. So it’s likely that, in the reverse of the way things are currently done, Mercedes has designed an EV-first van architecture that is now being adapted for internal-combustion powertrains.
Mercedes hasn’t provided many technical details on its next-generation vans.
Expect a greater degree of modularity than the designs of current vans, like the Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, to more easily accommodate the different powertrain types, including single-motor and dual-motor EV variants. Hopefully Mercedes will also incorporate some of the efficiency improvements gleaned from its Vision EQXX concept, and incorporated into electric passenger cars starting with the 2026 CLA compact sedan, to boost range and make electric vans more attractive to businesses.
The more workaday vans will face competition from usual suspects like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, all of which have both electric and combustion options in their van lineups. But as a van maker that also happens to be one of the world’s most prestigious luxury brands, Mercedes has an opportunity new to both sides of the business. And if the Vision V is any indication, it’ll be more than just the Mercedes three-pointed star on its hood that justifies its high-end status.
