Mercedes RV innovations for 2021

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With sales of new motorhomes and campervans going through the roof because of Covid 19, many manufacturers cannot keep up with orders and waiting times are increasing. One market factor at present is that growth is strongest amongst compact camper vans. Mercedes for example has announced that it expects to sell 25 percent more of its Marco Polo campervan.

The Marco Polo family, consisting of the fully equipped Marco Polo camper van and the Marco Polo HORIZON and ACTIVITY fitted with a pop-up roof and seat - bunk combination, will be available on request with the following new equipment as from the spring of 2021.
Both Marco Polo HORIZON and ACTIVITY will be available for the first time with an external power connection. How they managed to get away without having an external socket is beyond me.
• A security system called URBAN GUARD driver protection will be available in all model variants. URBAN GUARD warns both acoustically and visually when a break-in or theft is detected. In the event of theft, the stolen vehicle can be traced and located using Mercedes me connect.
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• Another novelty is Blind Spot Assist enhanced with Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Rear Cross Traffic Alert assists drivers when reversing out of a parking space by issuing an acoustic warning tone when another vehicle crosses at the rear.
In 2021 Pössl, a motorhome manufacturer from Upper Bavaria in Germany that specialises in panel van conversions, will launch two new camper vans based on the Mercedes-Benz V-Class and the Vito onto the European market. They are the Campstar and Vanstar.
And in the U.S. too, Mercedes-Benz midsize vans are breaking into the camper van segment – a first for the market. As one of the first U.S. manufacturers in this segment, Driverge Vehicle Innovations from Charleston, South Carolina is producing a Vito conversion called the Metris Getaway.
In 2018 Mercedes introduced the third generation Sprinter which is, in my opinion, the base vehicle which is most desired. In the second half of 2020 alone more than ten new models have celebrated their premiere; from camper vans to semi-integrated and fully-integrated motorhomes. These include models from companies such as Bürstner, Carthago, Eura Mobil, Frankia, Hymer, Kabe and La Strada. However, I would also like to mention the rather novel version from Alphavan from Wangen in Germany's Allgäu region.

In 2021, Mercedes will roll-out the new generation of the OM 654 engine from the Mercedes-Benz passenger car portfolio. The OM 654 is powerful and at the same time efficient thanks to an integrated technological approach with a stepped recess combustion process, dynamic multiway exhaust gas recirculation and an exhaust-gas after-treatment system located close to the engine.
The panel van and rear-wheel drive chassis are the first variants of the Sprinter with the four-cylinder diesel generation of the OM 654 engine family. As a further innovation, Mercedes-Benz is combining the its 2.0-litre engine with the 9G-TRONIC automatic transmission as an alternative to a 6-gear manual transmission.

Mercedes has something called Mercedes me connect which offer services such as Maintenance, Accident and Breakdown Management as well as Telediagnostics and Remote Vehicle diagnostics, the services Vehicle Setup and Vehicle Monitoring are now available cost-free as standard for three years. While the Vehicle Setup services make it possible to call up the tyre pressure or fuel level via the smartphone app, the Vehicle Monitoring services allow the user to determine the vehicle's location.
Mercedes has also announced that it is going to present the successor to the Citan in the second half of 2021. I my opinion this is rather a small vehicle to make an RV out of especially as it has wide-opening sliding doors both on the left and the right side of the vehicle, however may be you are tiny or want to something for your rabbits to go away on holiday. As I say, it is horses for courses, or in this case, rabbits for vans.