Mercedes will replace the V-Class with luxury minivans, which will be designated with the VLE and VLS indices. The press service of the German brand announced the premiere of the Vision V concept car. It will debut on April 22 at the Shanghai Motor Show and will be the predecessor of the serial luxury minivans Mercedes-Benz VLE and VLS. The line will include universal family minivans, VIP "shuttles" and luxury limousines.
Judging by the teaser, the Vision V will include smart speakers in the audio system and an elegant chess table. It is also known about the Mercedes-Benz Vision V that it will be based on the 800-volt electric platform Van Electric Architecture (VAN.EA). The top version will be able to travel up to 500 kilometers without recharging. According to insiders, this time the Germans will also release a minivan under the Maybach sub-brand: this could be the flagship VLS.
The key market for the VLE/VLS is China, where minivans in general and their electric variants are very popular. Whether the Mercedes-Benz minivan will have a hybrid version is an open question: the Voyah Dreamer and Denza D9 offer such a modification, but the Xpeng X9 and Zeekr 009 do not. In any case, there is still time until series production: the VLE/VLS will enter the market in 2026.
In order to develop the range of medium and large MPVs, Mercedes-Benz will prematurely discontinue production of the “smaller” models – Citan/eCitan and T-Class/EQT. As for the diesel V-Class/Vito, they were recently updated and the petrol versions may remain in the range for some time, as electrification has not yet reached all countries. A little later, the VLE/VLS will also go on sale in Europe.