The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a delivery van, chassis cab and minibus built by Daimler AG in Düsseldorf, Germany and Buenos Aires, Argentina and sold under its Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, and Freightliner brands. It was launched in Europe in 1995 to replace the famous but outdated Mercedes-Benz T1 van (dating from 1977) and in 2001 in the U.S. (originally branded as a Freightliner there). It is designed primarily for business, not private users, although RV conversions are available. In the US, the first generation Sprinters (2001-2006) were offered solely with the Mercedes Benz 5 cylinder turbodiesel 2.7L. It is currently offered with four and six cylinder diesel, six cylinder gasoline or LPG engines in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. In North America, only the six cylinder turbo diesel 3.0L and six cylinder gasoline 3.5L engines are offered. The body shell is also used in a joint-venture with Volkswagen who made the Volkswagen LT and the Volkswagen Crafter.

The second generation Sprinter was introduced in Europe in 2006.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was voted Van of the Year 2007 by Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine

There is an electric hybrid .

The model designations for the first generation Sprinter are W901, W902, W903, W904 and W905, depending on the gross weight rating.

For 2003, DaimlerChrysler introduced a Dodge-branded version of the Sprinter to the North American market. Rather than redesign the aging Dodge Ram Van which has used the same basic body and layout since the 1970s, the Sprinter offers a more fuel efficient alternative, available with a factory-built tall roof. It coexists with an earlier version badged as a Freightliner. While the Sprinter is offered to individuals, it is primarily a business model. The Sprinter's main US competitors include the Ford E-Series and the Chevrolet Express.

In Europe and elsewhere, the main competitors are the Ford Transit and the Fiat Ducato. Overall around 1.3 million Sprinters have rolled off the assembly lines. The Dodge Sprinter sold 19,578 units in the United States in 2005, while Freightliner sold approximately 2,500 units, giving it just 3.5% of the full-size van market.

Companies such as Microsoft are replacing van conversions with wide bus bodies with Sprinters with side-facing benches and tall right-side doors as campus shuttle buses. Limited numbers of complete "wagons" (passenger vans) are being produced in Germany and shipped complete to the U.S. market for mostly individual and church van uses. Typical Sprinter Wagons are 8-10 passengers and have glass in all of the normal positions that windows can be factory installed. Vans shipped to the U.S. on spec (Speculation to sell by dealer/distributor) are mostly sent in Arctic White color, but many standard and a few special colors are available on these passenger vans. The Dodge dealer network for Sprinters is limited to certified locations (known as "Business Link" certified dealers, usually only awarded to "Five Star" certified dealers) and dealer knowledge is still limited in both sales and service. Special orders typically take 1-3 months for delivery and make stretch out even longer, due to the assembly and disassembly in Germany, exporting of parts to South Carolina for re-assembly, the exception being passenger van models which are assembled in Germany and exported assembled: mid-late 2006 orders are probably going to be for 2007 models and delayed further for production to catch up to demand.

In North America, most Sprinters are sold as cargo vans to expediters in the United States. Such expediters are similar to truck drivers except they take smaller loads and will wait in a town indefinitely after unloading until dispatchers find another customer nearby to transport goods. The advent of the Sprinter van with its cargo space of 13-1/2 feet (4.1 m) has allowed van expediters to take three 48 × 48 in (1.22 x 1.22 m) skids or pallets where previously they were confined to two. A Sprinter driver is capable of hauling approximately 3000 lb (1360 kg) of cargo. The pool of Sprinter drivers gives more choice, efficiency and flexibility to trucking companies and their customers. They have become popular delivery and supply vans, with DHL and FedEx moving their fleets away from trucks and more and more towards smaller, more aerodynamic and more fuel-efficient Sprinters . Trade workers and others who spend time in the cargo bed of the Sprinter find the added roof height, an option on all Sprinters, a more comfortable alternative to traditional North American vans; even a six-footer can stand upright inside.

Another market in which Sprinters are gaining ground is as van conversions and mini-motorhomes. They have adopted as a smaller high-end fuel efficient van-based RV chassis, rather than replacing Ford and GM chassis.

In the North American market, the current Sprinter will be replaced in early 2007. This model will be re-assembled for the United States at a plant in Ladson, South Carolina (previous generation Sprinters were re-assembled at a plant in Gaffney, South Carolina) that is currently utilized by American LaFrance, a former business unit of Freightliner LLC. The 2007 version is a complete redesign from the prior model. In 2007, the current 2.7-liter inline 5 cylinder turbo diesel will be replaced in the US with a choice of V6 turbo diesel or V6 gasoline engine. DaimlerChrysler plans to invest US$35 million to prepare the plant for the assembly of Sprinter vans from CKD kits imported from Europe.

Engines

2000–2007 (2002–2006 USA)

2006–present (2007–present USA)

Sprinter model line-up

• Passenger van
• Conversion van
• Cargo van
• Minibus
• Cab-chassis

Additional Images

Notes