Germany - The Mercedes-Benz Vans Dusseldorf plant started series production of the full electric Sprinter (eSprinter) on December 12. The plant, which has produced 4.6 million vans (all types) since 1962, has been continuously updated. It is currently the leading Sprinter plant worldwide – having produced more than 200,000 to date.

Production of the eSprinter marks the beginning of a new era in Dusseldorf, said the company. Mercedes-Benz Vans states it has invested some EUR330m in the technical expansion of its manufacturing operations to enable it to build both the eSprinter and the conventional IC engine driven version on the same production line. This strategy is to provide the maximum flexibility and ability to meet future changes in both customer and market requirements. The plant has also had major investment put towards basic and advanced training of its own employees. Since the decision was made to build the eSprinter in Dusseldorf, the plant has become the competence centre for electric drives and to date, more than 2,400 employees have been trained for handling and assembling the high-voltage technologies.