2026 Mercedes Sprinter Gives Internal Combustion & EV Power

Two years ago, Mercedes-Benz announced that all of its newly developed midsize and large vans – successors to today’s Sprinter and Metris – would be electric-only starting in 2026, but the company is changing its tack amid changing consumer attitudes toward battery-powered vehicles. To wit, Mercedes’ scalable, formerly EV-exclusive Van Electric Architecture (VAN.EA) platform will spawn an internal combustion Van Combustion Architecture (VAN.CA) variant after its 2026 debut.
 

Not Even Vans Are Immune To Changing Tastes
Mercedes says that the VAN.EA platform will debut in 2026 with all-electric power, but the architecture’s VAN.CA cousin will follow close behind with a variety of internal combustion engines. The automaker claims that despite the disparate power sources, the ICE and EV vans will share 70 percent of their parts and be built on the same assembly line. The tactic sounds similar to what Mercedes-Benz is attempting with the forthcoming MMA compact vehicle platform, which is optimized for electric propulsion, then adapted for internal combustion. For most other model lines that share ICE and EV powertrains, the compromise is on the battery side, not the gasser.
 
A key component of the new architecture is its three different “modules.” The front portion of the platform will house the engine or electric motor and will be standard across the entire Mercedes van lineup. The center section is scalable for vehicle size and length (and will dictate battery size on the EVs), while the rearmost portion of the electric version will come with or without a second motor in addition to the standard front motor. Mercedes didn’t confirm whether the internal combustion variant will also be front-wheel drive with an optionally driven rear axle or if it would follow current Sprinter convention by defaulting to rear-drive with an optional 4×4 trim level.
 
It’s also not clear if Mercedes will continue to offer its vans in a variety of nameplates. Currently, the brand sells the Sprinter in the US, but overseas, there’s the full-size Sprinter, mid-size Vito, and compact Citan, as well as EV variants of all three. The way Mercedes describes its van platform’s frontmost module, it sounds as though it’ll be consistent across the company’s two largest van families. The automaker also said in 2023 it would be reducing its van portfolio by half, which could potentially mean its Sprinter and Vito products will be consolidated into fewer body styles that cover the majority of the market.
 
Electrification Makes Great Sense For Some Van Customers
Mercedes-Benz already makes the full-size eSprinter, which competes with the Ford E-Transit and Ram ProMaster EV. Each of which has seen some success since their respective debuts despite ranges that struggle to crest 200 miles, but that’s because many vans are used for consistent, repeatable routes, such as last-mile urban deliveries or local utilities repairs. Such a use case makes great sense for electrification since the vans spend a few hours a day at lower speeds (where they’re most efficient) before returning to the motor pool at night for a solid 10 to 12 hours of recharge time.
 
However, despite Mercedes-Benz claiming that its next-generation electric van would spawn factory-built RV and long-distance coach variants, many consumers use these work vehicles to cross county and state lines in pursuit of work or pleasure. Even if the next-generation van doubled the eSprinter’s Mercedes-claimed range of 206 miles (empty, by the way), that simply wouldn’t be enough for some van customers who load their rigs down with welders, tool chests, or kitchenettes, then hit the road in search of the next paycheck or Instagram post (#vanlife).