These are the first official sketches of Mercedes-Benz’s all-new Citan, which the German automaker describes as an ‘urban delivery van’. The Citan will make its world premiere at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover this September and go on sale before the end of the year.
In spite of the fact that Mercedes-Benz does not mention it in its press release, the automaker had previously revealed that the small van was developed in partnership with the Renault-Nissan alliance as part of their strategic collaboration, which includes several more projects such as the Twingo/Smart platform and powertrain cross-supply.
The Citan broadens Mercedes-Benz’s offerings in in the lower weight classes of the van market, which include the Vito (2.77 to 3.2 tons), Sprinter (3.0 to 5.0 tons) and Vario (6.0 to 8.2 tons).
The German company said that the small van segment has picked up in sales these past couple of decades and has now grown to around 700,000 units in Europe alone. It added that it plans to gain a market share of four to five percent in this segment with the Citan, which equals to 28,000 to 35,000 units a year in Europe.
“We will take advantage of the trend toward city vans, which our brand will be able to exploit thanks to its attractively priced vehicles and the high quality of our products and services,” said Mercedes-Benz Vans boss, Volker Mornhinweg.
The Citan will be offered in many configurations including panel van, crew bus and Mixto (passenger version) in various lengths and weight categories.
Mercedes has not yet revealed specific details on the engine lineup, but it said that the Citan will be offered with a broad range of low-emission, fuel-efficient diesel and gasoline engines along with a BlueEFFICIENCY package, adding that a pure electric drive version is also being planned for the near future.
PHOTO GALLERY
