Mercedes-Benz Vans will introduce a new, smaller van aimed at private owners sometime soon. It’ll partially replace the current Citan, which is really a rebadged Renault Kangoo—very similar to the Ram ProMaster City or Ford Transit Connect we get on this side of the pond. These compact vanlets are quite popular overseas with business owners and families (or business owners with families). And many are the product of joint ventures, just like the Citan.
There’s a new Kangoo on the horizon, so the timing of the T-Class announcement isn’t too surprising. It’ll carry on as a product of this partnership. And it’ll compliment the V-Class (known here as the Metris), slotting below it as a main pillar in the van division’s offerings to non-commercial buyers.
More intriguingly, there will be a fully electric variant of the T-Class. And the Citan will actually return—essentially, the new Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi platform that’ll underpin the Kangoo will spawn two distinct but related Mercedes-Benz vans. The Citan will target the commercial segment, and the T-Class the private passenger one.
We’ve reached out to Mercedes for comment as to whether to expect the little T-Class to join the Metris here, doing battle with the passenger versions of the Transit Connect and ProMaster City. It’s unlikely given the Renault platform underneath, but stranger things have happened. Remember, the ProMaster City is really a rebadged Fiat Doblo.
