At the Beurs van Berlage, a prominent building on the Damrak in the center of Amsterdam, Mercedes-Benz hosted the world premiere of itsnew Citan compact van series before the public gets a first look at the vehicle at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover in September.Mercedes-Benz's entry in the lucrative and growing sector of urban delivery and passenger vans is the result of Daimler's strategic partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance as the Citan is based on the Renault Kangoo series.
The Citan will eventually be sold in three different body variants including a panel van, a crew bus and the Mixto. The commercial version of the Citan will offer buyers a choice of three different lengths (3.94 m, 4.32 m and 4.71m).The five-seater Mixto passenger van is based on the longest platform (4.71m) and features folding rear seat bench, a wire mesh partition separating the load compartment, and two sliding doors.
The Citan crewbus is also a five-seater vehicle with folding rear seat bench and optional sliding doors on each side, but it uses the 4.32m longer chassis.
Depending on the model, there are also three different weights ranging up to a maximum permissible gross vehicle weight of 2,200 kilograms (4,850 lbs).
Mercedes said that as an alternative to the standard rear-end doors it will be supplying the Citan with a wide-opening tailgate.
As for the engine lineup, the front-wheel drive van will initially launch onto the market with a selection of three turbocharged diesels with direct-injection and a standard particulate filter with outputs ranging from 74hp (75PS) to 109hp (110PS), and a supercharged petrol engine rated at 113hp (114 PS).
The engines will be linked to five- or six-speed manual gearboxes.
A BlueEFFICIENCY package that includes an ECO start/stop function, battery and generator management, plus low rolling resistance tires will come as standard on the petrol model and optional on the diesel variants.
Mercedes says that the European market for light commercial vans has grown to 700,000 units a year, of which it expects to capture a market share of 4 to 5 percent or about 28,000 to 35,000 sales annually with the new Citan.
The German automaker has no current plans to offer the Citan in North America.
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