The company unveiled new strategic future initiative adVANce and Vision Van to extend its growth strategy and develop new business models. Mercedes-Benz bills the van as the first “to feature a fully automated cargo space and integrated delivery drones”.
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According to the company, the electric van has integrated delivery drones which can be used for parcel delivery.
It’s believed the van could offer efficiency gains in delivery operations of up to 50 per cent.
Volker Mornhinweg said: “With the Vision Van from Mercedes-Benz Vans we provide an idea of future generations of vans: the intelligent automation technology connects the entire process, from loading and transportation by road through to delivery to the consignee”.
“By leaving the door-to-door part to delivery robots the van drivers’ productivity will significantly rise while reducing congestion on the streets and Carbon dioxide emissions”, Allan Martinson, Starship’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
Image: Daimler unveils adVANce, a new electric van concept for the future.
The new van will be fully electric with a travel range of 80 to 270 kilometers. Smart technology in the van includes telematics, which collect and process data concerning the status of the delivery tour and current location of the load, all of which is transmitted to a distribution manager.
Starship Technologies and Mercedes-Benz Vans entered a cooperation earlier this summer after studying the needs and requirements of their customers, with a view to offer customers unprecedented flexibility, convenience and control over their deliveries. Until now, deliverers need to rearrange their packages (on average around 180 per load) ten times while making deliveries within a residential area and schedule approximately three to four minutes per stop. Robots theoretically will be more efficient and dependable than human workers. One-shot loading (loading the vehicle with all pre-picked parcels in one go) cuts loading times considerably and reduces the amount of vehicle downtime at distribution centres. The team at Mercedes-Benz Vans also has the integration of autonomous delivery systems such as drones or self-driving robots in mind.
As part of the investment, Mercedes also is planning for on-demand transportation of goods and people as a possible supplement for public transit via ridesharing concepts.
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Notably, Mercedes-Benz Vans will be creating a new business unit for the initiative – with a presence in Berlin, Silicon Valley, and Stuttgart.
