http://www.daimler-benz.com/mb/sprint_e.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)
Mercedes-Benz is presenting the new sprinter van series High practicality at a favourable price Application-oriented series with advanced engineering Improved active and passive safety Environmental compatibility from the very beginning to the very end Competitive production processes
Mercedes-Benz is presenting the new sprinter van series
At the beginning of 1995, the Commercial Vehicle Division of Mercedes-Benz AG starts a product offensive to replace the complete commercial vehicle range for goods haulage in Europe within the next three years. It begins with the Sprinter series of vans produced in the Düsseldorf plant and launched onto the market in the coming weeks. The new series of models 208 D - 414 is the successor to both the T 1 and MB 100 D van series and covers the GVW segment from 2.5 to 4.6 tonnes. Before the end of this year, it will be complemented by an 800 kg payload van produced in Vitoria, Spain. In the medium term, Mercedes-Benz plans to increase its share of the Western European van market from currently 13 % to 20 % with these new models.
High practicality at a favourable price
Mercedes-Benz invested a total of DM 1.4 billion into the new Sprinter series which was systematically developed along the lines of the company's price/value strategy. With an "Integrated Product Development and Production Planning" scheme, Mercedes-Benz succeeded in creating a vehicle series with high practicality for the customer at competitive terms and conditions. The new Sprinter's effective prices are much on the same level as those of the major competitor in the corresponding van segment - although the standard specifications have been extended significantly in comparison to the predecessor models, for instance by the addition of power steering, disc brakes on all four wheels, ABS, etc. The most advanced engineering ensures a high level of economic efficiency - fuel consumption, for instance, is reduced by up to 15 % and maintenance and repair costs per kilometre are halved. This is complemented by significant improvements in safety as well as in the vans' environmental compatibility in terms of production, operation and recycling.
Application-oriented series with advanced engineering
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter series of vans comprises nine different basic models to cover the permissible gross vehicle weight segment from 2.5 to 4.6 tonnes. The series includes panel vans, crewbuses, pickups and chassis, standard and high-roof versions, crewcabs and three different wheelbase lengths (3000, 3550 and 4025 mm). Load compartment volumes range up to 13.4 m, payload capacities up to more than 2.8 tonnes. The classic design principle of a monocoque short-nose bodywork with longitudinally installed front-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive has been retained.
There is a choice of three power units: two diesel engines and a four-valve petrol engine. The 58 kW four-cylinder diesel is a pre-chamber combustion engine which has been tried and tested in Mercedes-Benz vans for a long time; by contrast, the 90 kW direct-injection diesel engine with turbocharging and charge air cooling is offered for the first time. This five-cylinder direct-injection unit is fully electronically controlled, by means of EDC, and is likely to set new standards in terms of low-noise operation, fuel economy and - in conjunction the optionally available oxidation catalyst - environmental compatibility. The second new engine is a four-valve petrol engine which develops 105 kW from a displacement of 2.3 litres and is particularly recommended for applications requiring top per-formance. It is fitted as standard with a newly developed double-fluted exhaust system with three-way catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. The engines are combined with new five-speed manual transmissions; the proven four-speed automatic transmission is optionally available for the petrol and direct-injection diesel engines. There is a choice of eight different rear-axle ratios to match the power train to the individual vehicles' operating conditions.
Improved active and passive safety
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter models clearly exceed their predecessors' high levels of safety, among other things by means of independent front wheel suspension and the new brake system with disc brakes on all four wheels. The vehicles for the German and several other European markets will in addition be equipped with the anti-lock braking system (ABS) as standard. While ABS allows safe braking and steering, the additional "electronic braking differential" improves traction and road-holding stability on wet and slippery surfaces. Power steering - a standard feature on all versions - also improves handling safety and significantly reduces the effort required on the part of the driver when manoeuvring the vehicle.
The most conspicuous safety features for the driver and co-driver inside the vehicle are the height-adjustable seat belts with locks attached to the seat frames and the optionally available full-size airbag for the driver. A double airbag on the co-driver's side will become available before long. The high level of crash safety incorporated into the new vans was achieved by computerised crash simulation, a hitherto unique method on an international scale; its results were confirmed in real-life crash tests.
Environmental compatibility from the very beginning to the very end
A major portion of development capacity and resources was invested into environmental compatibility in terms of production, operation and recycling. For vehicle painting - a decisive aspect of environmental compatibility in motor vehicle production - a completely new cataphoretic dip priming plant with the largest immersion tank in Europe was put into operation. It yields several advantages apart from reliable corrosion protection, namely a reduction in the solvent content to the technically possible minimum of 1 %, an 80 % reduction of waste water and a 95 % reduction of paint sludge. The engines of the new Mercedes-Benz vans represent the state of the art, i.e. electronic control and standard exhaust gas recirculation in the diesel engines, newly developed oxidation catalysts and catalytic converters for the diesel and petrol engines, respectively, as well as generally lowered fuel consumption and pollutant emission levels.
The ecologically responsible disposal of scrap vehicles was taken into account as early as the development of the Sprinter. More than 90 % of its materials can be recycled in processes which are already in use today. The plastics are mutually compatible and can be re-used as base materials for new plastic products even when they are mixed with other plastics. The Sprinter already contains cab appointments made from recycled high-grade plastics; for their production, plastic components are marked for segregated collection.
Competitive production processes
In the development of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, integrated product and production planning has resulted in a vehicle design concept matched to production requirements - which means substantial progress with regard to the competitiveness of European production plants. This is demonstrated by a large number of vehicle features with which the conditions for cost reductions, efficiency and a high level of automation in production have been created. Examples of this are the reduction in parts diversity by about half, the use of 260 articulated and linear robots (previously eight), the re-organisation of bodyshell assembly and the new final assembly line with assembly boxes - together resulting in a reduction of production times by about 40 %. The new facilities also allow production volumes to be flexibly adapted from currently around 65,000 vans annually to the 100,000 units planned in the medium term. The suppliers have been integrated into the development and planning processes right from the start. They produce complete modules and deliver them to the assembly lines just in time; some of them have already set up their assembly plants in the immediate vicinity of the Düsseldorf factory.
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