Mercedes-Benz plans to build new eSprinter in North Charleston

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North Charleston’s Mercedes-Benz plant will produce a new eSprinter van starting the second half of 2023.

With a new electric strategy, Mercedes-Benz will invest $58 million in North Charleston, as well as in Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde, Germany. The three locations are the only plants designated to build the next generation of Sprinter vans.

Production will target new customer segments and markets.

“The future of mobility is electric in the transport sector, especially in the last mile delivery segment,” Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Marcus Breitschwerdt said in a news release.

Mercedes-Benz’s share of battery-electric vehicles is growing plants are being converted already to produce the electric vehicles, the company said.

“With our newly developed Electric Versatility Platform, we are significantly expanding our offering in the commercial series,” Breitschwerdt said. “With production of the next generation of the eSprinter in the USA and in Germany, we ensure market-oriented production. In total, we are investing around €350 million into the next generation of the eSprinter.”

By expanding van manufacturing to three locations, Breitschwerdt thinks this will create a synergy across the global production network. In particular, plants will benefit from Düsseldorf’s current experience producing electric and conventionally driven vans.

“In the future, we will be able to quickly meet the ever-increasing demand for electrically driven vans and, thanks to our intelligent and flexible production, be able to respond very precisely to the requirements of the different markets and make optimum use of our capacities,” Head of Production at Mercedes-Benz Vans Ingo Ettischer said in a statement.