The Electric Van Is Poised To Take Over The World

Mercedes helped invent the motorized van in Germany in the late 19th century. Now, it’s reinventing the category for America in the 21st. The global luxury brand has announced that it will be sending various iterations of its modular, battery-powered VAN.EA architecture to the States to move not just cargo, but people—and if all goes well, Very Important People. That flagship version was just previewed by the hyper-luxurious Vision V.

According to Dr. Andreas Zygan, head of development for M-B vans, the sleek new one-box-shaped haulers can be kitted out as “chauffeur-driven limousines,” complete with first-class seats, large screens, and elegant materials. “It should feel like a living room where you can relax and chat, an office for those always on meetings and even a man-cave for gaming and infotainment,” Zygan says.

If this use case seems incongruent with your perspective on minivans as the dwindling province of youth soccer carpools—devoured, like every other interesting vehicular category, by the crossover/SUV—it is time to reconsider.

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Source: Mercedes-Benz

“A lot of SUVs are actually monospaces in drag,” says Ralph Gilles, chief design officer for Stellantis, using the technical term for one-box van shapes, like the segment-leading Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager.

“The minivan market is kind of stubborn right now at about 500,000 units a year in the United States,” Gilles added. “But this might go up a little bit as we ‘sexify’ the van and continue to develop its appeal. Because one thing we’ve learned about our Pacifica customer is surprisingly few are that stereotypical Minivan Mom, maybe 20%.”

Some of the remaining 80% are retirees looking for ease of ingress/egress and a shuttle for visiting grandkids, Gilles says. But the majority of them are “doers:” adventurers, surfers, mountain bikers, model airplane aficionados, antiques haulers.  

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

The boxy interior of a van gives designers plenty of room to experiment with. In the Vision V design study, Mercedes includes folding lounge chairs and a 65-inch TV. 

“So as we keep developing the mono-space,” Gilles says, “we want to make sure it can flex to many more use cases.”

The stats bear out this trend. After reaching a nadir in 2020, passenger minivan sales have been increasing in recent years and are on target to have what may be their best year in a decade in 2025. 

This potential resurgence is the product of the same considerations that have always driven van usage. Primary among these—according to Felix Kilbertus, chief creative officer of automotive design consultancy Pininfarina—is their capacity to “create as much space as possible on a given footprint.” With a low floor, wide openings, and large interior volume, you can cram more humans and their physical and emotional baggage into a minivan, more readily. A Honda Odyssey has nearly as much overall cargo space as a Chevy Suburban despite being 21 inches shorter.  

Secondly, we may be witnessing a turning of generational tides. Just as Boomers abandoned their forebears’ station wagons for minivans, and Millennials abandoned minivans for SUVs, current families are looking for differentiating options. “I think that there will be another generational shift,” says Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry. “People don’t necessarily want to drive what their parents drove.” (Pininfarina’s Kilbertus adds, wryly, that designers are over the sport ute form: “We are so bored with SUVs.”) 

Photo by: InsideEVs

The VW ID. Buzz proves that—with the right design—a van can be visually compelling while still being practical.

But the most compelling factor for the van’s potential reincarnation is electrification. Hybrids like the Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Sienna, and Kia Carnival achieve remarkable efficiency, and the Pacifica, which is a PHEV, even offers over 30 miles of battery-only power. A purely electric drivetrain enhances all of the form’s positive attributes.

Because the drivetrain components can be placed where needed, instead of run down the middle of the interior, Kilbertus says, “electric mono-volume vehicles allow the wheels to be pushed to the edges, enhancing space.” The resultant larger floor increases the size of the battery pack the space is capable of accommodating, raising range, and providing a low center of gravity for improved handling.

This Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid cutaway shows why the low, wide floors of a van are a great place to stash batteries.

Moreover, the aerodynamic teardrop shape works naturally on mono-volume vehicles, furthering efficiency. (Mercedes-Benz USA’s product manager Iain Forsyth says that the company is aiming for a 310-mile range in their small US van.) And the cavernous interiors allow more flexible seating patterns, placing people face-to-face for meetings, or in rows for privacy. “Electrification makes vans quieter, more stable, and roomier—and thus more premium,” Kilbertus says. “It’s a natural match.” 

Electric vans also lend themselves readily to autonomy, should such technology ever arrive. “Once you can get rid of the steering wheel, you can move the A-pillar and windscreen forward, so you gain a lot of space,” Kilbertus says. “And space is the ultimate luxury.” Forsyth notes that Mercedes has “ambitious plans to achieve SAE Level-3 for private van customers by the end of the decade.” Level 3 allows customers to take their eyes off the road in certain situations, with the vehicle technically driving itself.

The van revival is already underway overseas. “This type of form factor is very popular in China, as well as Japan and Korea, and increasingly in Europe,” Abuelsamid says. In those locations, vans act as executive transport, either individually owned or as livery vehicles. Outfitted with Wi-Fi and captains’ thrones, they allow people to take advantage of their long commutes. 

The Chinese-market Li Auto Mega shows is a luxurious, all-electric minivan that looks like no other van on the road.

Big electric vans also provide access to personal private space, which, Kilbertus says, is at a premium in densely populated cities, especially in Asia. They could become more of this “third space” in the US as well, Gilles says. “Imagine a place where you spent a lot of quality time, or in some extreme cases, would actually park on purpose and watch a movie in the van or do karaoke. Or a parent might even do yoga while waiting for the kids to finish karate practice,” Gilles says. Vans are also less conspicuous than blingy SUVs, or stately limousines, making their occupants less of a target for paparazzi, kidnappers, or protestors’ ire.

We have seen all manner of fervid overseas vehicular trends fail to translate here. Yet Mercedes remains confident of its bet. “There’s already a market out there for luxury upfitters who customize vans” Forsyth says, referencing American companies like Becker Automotive or Bespoke Coach, who create deluxe, mid-six-figure rolling offices/RVs for celebrity clients. “We’re looking to fill a gap in the market that hasn’t been addressed yet.”  

The Lexus LM is already available in Europe and China. Its giant recliners and rear-seat entertainment screen make it a great place to spend time, and far nicer for rear-seat occupants than an LX SUV.

Photo by: Lexus

Moreover, Kilbertus notes a convergence between American and Chinese needs, because “both markets are big geographically, and people in them like big cars,” he says. Electric vans’ flexible, modular scalability, and the push for zero-emission solutions to the massive and growing business of home delivery, also helps companies more readily recoup investment on flexible EVan platforms.

The first new electric passenger van in our market, the $60,000 - $70,000 VW ID Buzz, is a delightfully stylish nostalgia play, but it’s pricey considering its utterly utilitarian interior and limited 231 miles of range (which diminishes significantly on the highway). It’s unclear whether it will succeed here, but other options might. 

Pininfarina recently showed a concept that may be poised for American success, the Foxtron Model D. Intended to be produced by Foxconn, the company that manufactures iPhones in China, it features an active suspension and very soft cocooning interior surfaces. But its exterior features a notable prow, and the faceted muscularity of an SUV, abiding Gilles’ “drag” comment. 

The Foxtron Model D, designed by Pininfarina.

Photo by: Pininfarina

Chrysler has already suggested that its next-generation minivan might be available on an electric platform. Ford’s electric Transit cargo van can be upfitted for use as a shuttle or large family vehicle, potentially presaging a dedicated people-mover option in next-gen models. GM is experimenting with designs for mono-volume electric passenger vehicles in a range of sizes, some in collaboration with Hyundai, which is establishing leadership in the category. 

“Vans are just a better solution for most people, especially with electrification,” Abuelsamid says. “They’re just much more practical.”

Moreover, unlike commercial vehicles, passenger vans can be imported into the United States—at least right now—without suffering from the longstanding 25% “Chicken Tax” tariff, further opening up our market to potential imports. The same can’t be said for commercial vans, however, making it hard to achieve the economies of scale a flexible van platform would normally provide.

Volvo is also getting into the luxury van market with the EM90. It's going to China first, but it could make it to other markets.

Of course, any discussion of tariffs conjures the capricious whims of our current government. So who knows what might happen with imports, exports, EV credits, battery production or pretty much anything. 

Yet, these unknowns might become an incidental asset. “We’re dealing with unprecedented volatility right now,” Kilbertus says. “But socio-cultural moments can sometimes cue a challenging of the status quo, like the way the petrol and smog crises of the 70s gave us better, more efficient, cleaner vehicles.”

He goes on. “The SUV says, ‘I need to save myself and protect what’s mine.’ The van is a more egalitarian and humanistic form. It’s all about shared space. It’s about traveling together.” Perhaps we can find our way to that journey, or perhaps we’re already on it.