The world’s leading ecommerce platform, Amazon has ordered 100 electric Vito vans from Mercedes-Benz, adding to the list of companies that are developing a fleet of electric vehicles. Mercedes released a statement confirming that the eVito transit vans will be brought out to the market next year, by the end of which Amazon will be able to deploy the vehicles.
Mercedes has termed its electric vehicle platform as use-case-driven, which is the ability to be customized depending on the transit purpose and the customer, with the availability of different lengths and wheelbases. Reportedly, eVito has three diverse driving programs along with four recuperation phases that will allow the driver to get the best out of the vehicle in all conditions, based on individual driving style and functional parameters. As per company records, the eVito has a range of 100-150 km (62-92 miles) depending on prevalent conditions, a battery capacity of 41.4 kWh and will take six hours to get fully charged.
Apart from eVito, Mercedes-Benz further announced the electric version of its bigger, full-size delivery van Sprinter. The eSprinter will permit a cargo space of 10.5 cubed, same as its fuel-based version, a maximum payload of over 900kg (approx. 1,984 pounds) and a 55kWh battery providing a range of 150km. For the same model, the company had also showcased a fuel-cell-powered Sprinter van concept, sources mentioned. The website of Mercedes-Benz indicates that both eVito and eSprinter vans are capable of speeds up to 80km/h in cities and if required, even a top speed of 120km/h can be reached.
Although electric transportation vehicles have started to garner attention after the launch of electric semi-trucks by Tesla, they have actually been around for a while now. Records show that cities in California, like Los Angeles, have been using electric vehicles since 2015. More companies are joining in the trend to adopt green technology in vehicles, with car rental services such as Ryder offering them to customers and logistics companies like UPS building their own fleets of electric delivery trucks.