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Mercedes-Benz to Create Line of Autonomous Vans Inspired by Urbanetic

Perhaps one of the strangest apparitions on the floor of the Hannover Motor Show for commercial vehicles is the Mercedes-Benz Vision Urbanetic.
Mercedes-Benz Vision Urbanetic platform 1 photo
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Visually, the concept is the most striking of them all, albeit the concept behind it – a modular autonomous platform capable of swapping the bodies on top according to need – is present there at other booths as well, including Renault’s.

But this weird sight in Hannover is something we’ll probably have to get used to, as the Germans said they would be creation of a new internal unit within its Vans business that will be in charge with making Urbanetic a reality.

Already testing of technologies that make up the concept is underway, with the help of several of Mercedes-Benz customers, including BASF.

Currently BASF, the largest chemical producer in the world, is planning to test an on-demand ridesharing service at its Ludwigshafen facility. Other components making up the Urbanetic will follow, including the introduction of an autonomous shuttle at the plant sometime in the future.

As for actual upcoming models, Mercedes says it won’t be long until we get to see for real a new range of three-pointed star autonomous vehicles carrying people and cargo to and fro.

The Urbanetic is, in essence, a self-driving electric platform on top of which various cabins can be loaded and unloaded, depending on needs. For passenger transport, the cabin can hold as much as 12 people, while when in cargo configuration it can transport up to ten EPAL palettes.

“Together with our customers, we are field testing technology elements of Vision,” said in a statement the head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, Volker Mornhinweg.

“It will enable us to focus the holistic mobility solutions of Mercedes-Benz Vans even more on individual customer needs.”

Mercedes did not announce any timetable for the roll-out of these machines.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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