Few lineups have run the gamut of cars and trucks like Mercedes-Benz over the decades. That three-pointed star has graced everything from luxurious coupes to tiny compacts to buses, semis, and why not, the Unimog. Though the company’s corporate structure means that drivers in the U.S. can’t enjoy seeing the same badge on an S-Class and an 18-wheeler in traffic, there’s one obvious place where Mercedes’ passenger and commercial vehicle operations converge on American roads: the Sprinter van.
And this week, we’re getting a glimpse of its future. As Mercedes celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first Sprinter’s launch, it’s previewing the design of the upcoming fourth generation model with a sculpture named “The BOuLDER”—that’s the last time I type it like that—and sharing a few details on its next cargo van’s platform, functionality, and connectivity features.
Even if you don’t run a delivery business, this is important. Mercedes-Benz is at a crossroads, squeezed by rising trade barriers and a hurried pivot away from an early all-in bet on electric vehicles. Revenue from its vans division had grown by 25 percent since 2019 before dropping in 2024, just after the boom years encouraged the company to plan an ambitious expansion with the new VLE/VLS class luxury vans. The Sprinter name and the image it carries as something that works as a red carpet shuttle and a utility truck is incredibly valuable, and financially, the automaker needs the next Sprinter to be a hit more than it needs to appease anyone by putting a V8 back in the C63 AMG.
The Boulder reveals the grille, a bit of the headlights, and chunks of a hi-roof Sprinter’s silhouette: the hood line, A-pillar, roof, and rear end. It looks like… a van, as it should. A closer look brings out some changes though, like a more rounded fascia, a flatter hood to create more of an angle at the A-pillar, and a slightly more slab-sided character overall.
Here I’m going to disclose that Mercedes actually gave me a secret preview of a styling prototype in Germany last week showing the full (but not fully finished) design, but I signed a heavy NDA, handed over my phone and recorder, and got wanded down by a stern German, so I can’t say anything about it. They asked for feedback, I gave it, and that’s that.
You might see this and think it pretty much looks the same. But it should! Commercial vans need to be two things – good at carrying stuff, and easy to repair and modify. Companies shouldn’t be getting wacky with that design brief. You don’t need the Rivian RSV’s massive U-shaped taillight and the corner-bashing issues it creates to signal that this is the future of vans, or even just an improvement over the one that came before it. All you need is something that does the job better.
Thing is, the Sprinter has lots of jobs. Here in America, we mainly see them as trade or delivery vans, camper conversions, and VIP shuttles. Globally, you can add flatbeds, box trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, food trucks, articulated semis, and more to the list. Mercedes has to account for all of those in how it’s setting up the next one. Importantly, the fourth-gen Sprinter will be available in a similar range of roof heights, wheelbases, and chassis configurations.
The next Sprinter will also come in both electric and gas versions, riding on the VAN.EA and VAN.CA platforms respectively, which are also shared with the new smaller and passenger-focused VLE/VLS-Class van Mercedes announced earlier this year. How may parts will be shared when the Sprinter needs to be built for durability? Mercedes won’t say yet, nor will it disclose anything about the ICE powertrains. The electric version will come first, and we expect 800-volt architecture to enable super fast charging.
Further, Mercedes will add its MB.OS connected operating system with a number of fleet management focused features, like custom app integration for route planning and realtime maintenance alerts. The van’s new computers will be deeply integrated in a “chip-to-cloud” setup to allow for remote control of everything from the HVAC system to charging settings.
Not every Sprinter buyer runs a fleet, and there will certainly be those who think those are needless complications in a work van, but we’ll hold judgment until those systems can be stress tested in the real world. Also, I have to stress how different this kind of preview feels from your average new model teaser. Mercedes isn’t promising a revolution. In fact, these are all advances already found on a lot of new cars today. Mercedes is just saying alright, time to put them in the van.
That’s actually been the Sprinter’s thing all along. Like the S-Class, it’s been the first to do a lot of things in its segment that have since become the norm for cargo vans, starting with standard four-wheel disc brakes when it first launched. Speaking of, Mercedes brought a yellow 1995 model out of its museum for a quick spin so I could see where things started. Honestly, apart from the diesel being glacially slow, it was remarkable how modern everything else felt from the driver’s seat—the seating position and ergonomics, the car-like touch points, the view over the hood. These changes were big leaps for commercial vans back then. Now, they’re just kind of how things are.
Thirty years later, it’s trying to do it again. The same, just better. We’ll see when the full reveal happens sometime next year.
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