A Mercedes-Benz van will be sold in the United States under the Dodge
name. This will give Dodge dealers a vehicle to plug the hole that will
be created when DaimlerChrysler stops building Dodge Ram vans next year.
The diesel-engined Sprinter van went on sale last year at Freightliner
commercial-truck dealerships.
DaimlerChrysler has sold approximately 2,000 Sprinters so far this
year, mostly to FedEx, and touts the van’s large cargo space and its
five-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that gets about 22 miles per
gallon.
The Sprinter is built in Germany and shipped disassembled to South
Carolina for assembly, while passenger versions are imported fully
assembled. The Sprinter starts at about $26,300.
