- New VLE minivan debuts March 10 with a massive grille.
- First model built on new modular VAN.EA electric platform.
- Offers up to eight seats and limousine-like ride comfort.
Mercedes has confirmed when its all-new VLE electric minivan will step into the spotlight, and the date is set for March 10 in Stuttgart. Along with the announcement, the company dropped a teaser image that gives us a close look at the front end. The bright star-patterned daytime running lights immediately tie the production VLE to the earlier Vision V concept.
Related: New Mercedes VLE Could Be The Most Opulent Minivan Ever In America
While the concept turned heads with its bold proportions and almost sci-fi surfacing, the VLE keeps things fractionally more grounded. Even so, the family resemblance is clear, and Mercedes is not shy about saying this is the start of a new era.
It will be the first model built on the brand’s fresh VAN.EA electric platform, which is modular and scalable to cover everything from basic people carriers to plush shuttles and big delivery vans.
Mercedes says the VLE mixes limousine-like ride quality with MPV practicality. Think flexible seating for up to eight, a pillar-to-pillar MBUX Hyperscreen dashboard that runs the latest version of Mercedes-Benz’s (MB.OS) operating system, and tons of clever storage ideas.
A more luxurious VLS variant with lounge-style chairs and a huge 4K rear entertainment screen comes later for buyers who want full chauffeured opulence and fewer seats.
Biggest Grille Yet
The teaser image shows a smooth nose with an even bigger grille than the one on the new GLC EQ flanked by those star-shaped DRLs, which give the van a distinctive identity.
Recent prototypes caught winter testing suggested the overall shape will closely track the Vision V’s silhouette with a lower roofline and more sculpted body sides to avoid the usual slab-sided look of most big vans. Our own Carscoops rendering, seen below, shows how the production VLE could look.
Under the skin, the electric VAN.EA platform is expected to deliver single and dual motor options to cover a wide performance spread, entry versions making do with 268 hp (272 PS / 200 kW) and top models nudging 470 hp (476 PS / 350 kW).
300+ Mile Range
Battery sizes could vary from 90 kWh to almost 120 kWh, with WLTP ranges of over 300 miles (500 km) in the most efficient versions, and all VLEs are able to take 350 kW inputs thanks to their 800-volt electrics. Today’s combustion vans will still be offered, but they ride on a different platform.
Mercedes calls the VLE the world’s first luxury urban SUV, though really it is a high-end electric minivan with big ambitions that arrives after similar vans from Lexus, Volvo, and Zeekr.
We’ll get the full details in March, but the early signs suggest the people mover class is about to get a lot more glamorous, though maybe not quite as glamorous as the Vision V concept shown below.
Mercedes Vision V Concept
