Amazon has just become the world’s largest customer for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The online retailing company submitted a massive order of 20,000 vans.
Mercedes-Benz has begun constructing and handing over the Sprinters for the online retailer’s Delivery Service Partner program. The production is underway at the carmaker’s brand-new plant opened in North Charleston, South Carolina. The production center with over 900 employees, was part of a $500 million investment in the area carried out by Daimler, especially designed for the production of the Sprinter van.
This is the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter – Practicality and connectivity at its best
“This makes better use of the dynamic market potential, placing our new plant in North Charleston as a central component of our growth strategy ‘Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global”, states Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.
“We’re proud to partner with Mercedes-Benz Vans to contribute to local economies through the order of Amazon branded Sprinter vans produced at their new plant in North Charleston,” says Dave Clark, Amazon’s Senior VP of Worldwide Operations. “Thanks to the tremendous response to Amazon’s new Delivery Service Partner program, we are excited to increase our original order of branded Sprinter vans to 20,000 vehicles, so new small businesses will have access to a customized fleet to power deliveries of Amazon packages.”
The third generation of the Sprinter van saw the light of day this past February. The van features the company’s newly developed MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) infotainment system, but also the latest driver assistance system for extra comfort and safety onboard.
A choice of two engines is available for the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The van can be powered either by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder petrol unit or a 3.0-liter 6-cylinder turbo diesel powerplant.
