German car manufacturer Mercedes‑Benz is preparing a completely new electric luxury van called the Mercedes‑Benz VLE‑Class, a model that shows how the brand plans to combine practical van design with the comfort and technology normally found in its luxury passenger cars.
The new VLE-Class is built on a fresh electric platform called Van Architecture, which was developed specifically for future electric vans from Mercedes-Benz, and this advanced platform uses an 800-volt electrical system together with a large 115 kWh battery pack that allows the vehicle to achieve impressive performance as well as a long driving range.
Buyers will be able to choose between two different powertrain configurations, because the basic version of the VLE-Class uses a single electric motor mounted on the front axle that produces around 272 horsepower, while the more powerful version uses a dual-motor setup that adds an additional motor to the rear axle and creates an all-wheel-drive system with a total output of about 409 horsepower.
Thanks to the extra power and traction of the dual-motor version, the all-wheel-drive VLE can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in around 6.4 seconds, which is an impressive figure for a large van designed mainly for comfort and practicality rather than sporty driving.
Charging performance is also expected to be very strong because the new electric platform supports ultra-fast charging speeds of more than 300 kW, which means that the battery can recover a large amount of range during relatively short charging stops when connected to powerful DC fast chargers.
According to early estimates from Mercedes‑Benz, the VLE-Class could deliver more than 435 miles of range on the European WLTP test cycle, although the official range rating will likely be lower once the vehicle is tested under the stricter American EPA standards.
The VLE is designed to be extremely versatile because Mercedes expects it to be used by many different types of customers, including large families who want a spacious electric vehicle for long journeys as well as premium transport services that need comfortable vehicles for driving business clients around busy cities.
Inside the cabin the VLE-Class can carry up to eight passengers, and customers will be able to choose between several seating layouts that range from simple bench seats to the more luxurious Grand Comfort seats, which include features such as soft pillows, adjustable calf supports, and built-in massage functions that are normally found in high-end luxury cars.
When configured with these premium seats, the VLE-Class becomes one of the most luxurious vans available in the American market and offers a level of comfort similar to high-end luxury vans such as the Lexus LM that have become increasingly popular in many parts of the world.
Technology inside the VLE will also be very familiar to current Mercedes customers, because the van will feature the company’s latest driver assistance systems from the MB.Drive suite as well as the wide digital dashboard layout known as the Superscreen, which uses the same Mercedes‑Benz User Experience infotainment system already used in many modern Mercedes passenger cars.
Passengers in the rear will also have access to a large 31.3-inch panoramic screen mounted in the headliner, which can be used for entertainment, media streaming, and other digital functions during longer journeys.
Another practical feature of the VLE-Class is the flexible interior design, because the seats can be moved around the cabin in order to create different layouts for passengers or cargo, and depending on the configuration the seats can either be rolled manually on wheels or adjusted using electronic controls.
While the VLE-Class already offers a very high level of luxury for a van, it will not be the most exclusive model in the future Mercedes van lineup, because the company has already previewed an even more luxurious concept called the Mercedes‑Benz Vision V, which will eventually lead to an even more premium production model called the Mercedes‑Benz VLS that is expected to become the “S-Class of vans”.
With the upcoming VLE-Class, Mercedes‑Benz is clearly trying to expand the idea of what a luxury vehicle can be, combining the space and flexibility of a van with the comfort, technology, and electric performance that modern buyers increasingly expect from premium vehicles.
