Mercedes debuts van telematics packages

The eight different telematics packages will be released in Australia later this year

Operators will be able to choose between eight separate telematics packages to be rolled out in fleets of Mercedes-Benz’s new Sprinter van, the company says.

To be launched in Australia following the local introduction of Mercedes’ new range of Sprinter vans later this year, the Mercedes Pro package will allow for information such as vehicle location, fuel levels or maintenance intervals to be retrieved in real time.

Mercedes-Benz Vans head of connectivity and digital services Björn Sack says the system will be modular and scalable, depending on business needs.

“Smaller and medium-size fleets also benefit from evaluations and analyses that were previously only affordable for large fleets with stand-alone solutions,” he says.

“In addition, existing services are being updated continually, and further services are being added to the portfolio. The necessary telematics are deeply integrated into the structure of the vehicle.”

Mercedes-Benz provides a product advisor to help its business customers select the package that fits their business best – taking things such as industry type, fleet size, annual mileage and route planning dynamics into consideration.

The eight added-value packages are:

• Optimised Assistance – for the timely and efficient planning of service and maintenance work, better appointment and cost transparency, and reduced downtimes.
• Efficient Fleet Management – for quick and flexible planning, and better utilisation of the fleet capacity thanks to transparency regarding vehicle location and status.
• Improved Navigation – optimises the route planning based on real-time traffic data, up-to-date map data, and the option of directly sending a Point-of-Interest (POI) to the vehicle as a navigation destination.
• Efficient Driving Style Analysis – provides meaningful data on the driving style that can be used to optimize fuel consumption, for example.
• Simplified Fleet Communication – optimises the connection between driver and fleet manager, who can send messages directly to the Mercedes PRO App and allocate assignments: interactively, quickly and directly.
• Digital Records – allows saving of completed routes, e.g. for the separate administration of business and private journeys.
• Mobile Vehicle Access – increases anti-theft protection and improves working processes as the vehicle can be checked and locked remotely, and it is also possible to open the vehicle without a key.
• Data Interfaces Mercedes-Benz Vans – integrate the new Sprinter into existing fleet management solutions.

The system is based around the communication module (LTE) installed in all Sprinter variants, which forms the interface between fleet manager (through a web-based vehicle management tool) and driver (Mercedes Apps).

Mercedes-Benz says that while users will not need to install new hardware or other infotainment options to the vehicle to use the Mercedes Pro package, its optional Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) package was particularly user-friendly.

The MBUX uses a touchscreen, but can also be controlled using steering wheel controls or a voice system – responding to some speech commands after the driver says “Hey Mercedes”.

For example, Mercedes-Benz says that if the driver says “The tank is empty”, the infotainment system replies with suggested filling stations nearby or along the indicated route.

The integration of artificial intelligence is a particular new feature: the telematics system gets to know the user by previous behaviour, and suggests suitable destinations, contacts or radio stations, the company says.