Presentation of the Mercedes eSprinter Sustaineer & ONO: The Van as a Microhub

In the beginning was the idea - and a question: How to profitably combine an electric van and an e-cargo bike for both modes of transport. Complementary rather than competitive, not either/or, but both/and. “Every cargo bike concept that is supposed to work also needs a transporter in the background somewhere. You can't drive dozens of miles from transshipment depots into the city with a cargo bike, the battery would be empty before the delivery tour even starts,” sketches Onno Wilken, responsible for Last Mile innovations at Mercedes-Benz Vans, outlining the problem and initial situation.

The impulse, as so often, came from practical experience on Wilkens' desk: Because it is so difficult to find, let alone finance, microdepots in city centers, CEP providers demanded solutions. How to manage without microdepots was, therefore, the central task. Instead of fixed depots, they envisioned a kind of “rendezvous point” where the cargo bikes directly take over pre-commissioned containers, as is informally already being practiced. But what if it rains or snows? An exchange in the open air seemed improvised and inadequate to Wilken. Especially since sorting on-site eats up time.

Sustaineer as an experimental base

Wilken stumbled upon this issue while he was creating a study for his employer about the use of cargo bikes for last mile delivery. From there, it was only a small step to find a provider willing to participate in the project. ONO Motion in Berlin was an obvious choice because their concept has always relied on interchangeable containers, and Mercedes’ distribution is based in the capital city.

And this fit perfectly with Wilken's idea to use the already existing and highly suitable concept Sprinter Sustaineer (including features like a solar roof, fine dust filter, body-near heating) as a micro depot. Technically, this is tricky: the robust ONO boxes with a volume of two cubic meters weigh 90 kilograms when empty, and can carry up to 290 kilograms when loaded. Pushing them up a six-degree ramp quickly proved to be impractical—neither TÜV nor BG compliant. Otherwise, it would have needed very long rails, which typically don't have space in inner cities.

Significantly fewer delivery points - that saves time

So Wilken sought a technology partner to realize a prototype of a container lift – and found one in specialist Bär. They call it a liftgate and milled a special construction from solid aluminum, combined with the company's standard components, from the remote control to the two-stage hydraulic lifting mechanism, to the Lasi flap and a warning light. License plates also need to go on the rear, explains Wilken. It docks onto the hitch mount, which the eSprinter now optionally allows. Therefore, another combination with a trailer is ruled out with this concept: liftgate or trailer.

The shelf systems remain in place on the sides, so only one of the standardized containers fits into the rear of the standard Sprinter. This allows the driver to then hand the container over to a cargo bike colleague and continue his package route. This would significantly reduce his delivery points and so-called curbside time – and in fine distribution, whether in urban or rural areas, the cargo bike is advantageous. In the model, the KEP-Sprinter could return to the depot and start a new route. The strengths of both modes of transport would be combined.