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The Sprinter commercial van will return to its origins next year. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, part of Daimler AG, announced last week that the van will be sold under the Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner brands in 2010. Dodge will discontinue Sprinter sales after Dec. 31.
The Mercedes-built van currently is sold in the United States and Canada under the Dodge and Freightliner Truck brands.
A new company, Daimler Vans USA, LLC, is being established to oversee sales and service of the Sprinter for both Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner. Freightliner is part of Daimler Trucks North America, another Daimler subsidiary.
Dodge dealers will stop selling the Sprinter once current inventories are gone, but will service the vans indefinitely, David Elshoff, head of Dodge marketing communications, told Light & Medium Truck. About 420 Dodge dealers currently sell the van.
Dodge began selling the Mercedes-built van in 2003. It sold 14,600 units in 2008, Elshoff said.
That would account for about 58% of a combined 25,000 units sold last year, Geoff Day, director of communications for Mercedes-Benz USA, told L&MT.
Separate Daimler Vans locations will be set up in about 100 Mercedes-Benz automobile dealerships in and around key markets to sell the Sprinter, Day said. He added that M-B dealerships will service the vans.
About 45 Freightliner dealers currently sell the van, Day said.
The Sprinters sold here are assembled in Charleston, S.C. The van was introduced in Europe in 1995.
Chrysler May Add Fiat Van
While Dodge has lost the Sprinter, its parent, Chrysler Group LLC, may gain a replacement with the Fiat Ducato or Iveco Daily, two commercial vans built by the Fiat group and sold in Europe.
Fiat SpA, of Turin, Italy, acquired a minority share in Chrysler Group earlier this year after the former company, Chrysler LLC, declared bankruptcy.
“Chrysler Group, Fiat and Iveco are exploring bringing additional light commercial vehicle product offerings to North America including the Fiat Ducato and Iveco Daily,” Elshoff said.
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