Mercedes helped invent the motorized van in Germany in the late 19th century. Now, it’s reinventing the category for America in the 21st. The global luxury brand has announced that it will be sending various iterations of its modular, battery-powered VAN.EA architecture to the States to move not just cargo, but people—and if all goes well, Very Important People. That flagship version was just previewed by the hyper-luxurious Vision V.
According to Dr. Andreas Zygan, head of development for M-B vans, the sleek new one-box-shaped haulers can be kitted out as “chauffeur-driven limousines,” complete with first-class seats, large screens, and elegant materials. “It should feel like a living room where you can relax and chat, an office for those always on meetings and even a man-cave for gaming and infotainment,” Zygan says.
If this use case seems incongruent with your perspective on minivans as the dwindling province of youth soccer carpools—devoured, like every other interesting vehicular category, by the crossover/SUV—it is time to reconsider.
