Mercedes-Benz is using the Caravan Salon Düsseldorf 2026 to show the new Marco Polo and Marco Polo HORIZON for the first time at a trade fair. The van maker also confirms that its torque-on-demand all-wheel-drive system will be offered for fully integrated motorhomes on the Sprinter for the first time, with a prototype from Swedish builder KABE already on site. Rounding out the stand in Hall 17 is a piece of history: the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, shown as the brand marks 140 years since the car was invented.
Mercedes-Benz has built its Caravan Salon Düsseldorf 2026 appearance around two ideas: what its camper and motorhome business is doing next, and where the whole industry started. The stand in Hall 17 mixes fresh product with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first practical petrol-powered car and the reason the company is celebrating a 140-year anniversary this year.
Two Marco Polo premieres
The headline models are the new Marco Polo and the new Marco Polo HORIZON, both making their trade-fair debut in Düsseldorf. According to Mercedes-Benz, the two camper vans will for the first time be built entirely in-house, a change the company says gives it more flexibility to keep up with customer demand.
The manufacturer also lists a set of what it calls smart new features aimed at comfort and liveability on board, including work on the sense of space, the lighting and blackout concept, acoustics and connectivity. The release does not break those changes down into individual specifications; Mercedes-Benz points to a separate Marco Polo magazine for the detail.
All-wheel drive for fully integrated motorhomes
The more structurally interesting announcement concerns the Sprinter. Mercedes-Benz says its established torque-on-demand all-wheel-drive system will be available for fully integrated motorhomes for the first time, which the company describes as a market first.
The system splits drive between the front and rear axles automatically, reacting within milliseconds to the situation rather than waiting for the driver to engage anything. Mercedes-Benz argues that this lowers the barrier to four-wheel drive for buyers who have never used it, and that it can improve safety where grip changes — snow, or rough surfaces.
The commercial logic is clear enough: the company states that one in every ten Sprinters delivered worldwide last year went to a motorhome customer.
The KABE prototype and other conversions
The first prototype of a fully integrated motorhome on the Sprinter 4×4 comes from the Swedish firm KABE, shown on its own stand in Hall 6 as the KABE Imperial Ri830 TRAQ 4×4. Alongside heavy insulation, it has a sleeping area with two beds, a kitchen and dining area, a bathroom and a large garage — big enough, KABE suggests, for ski equipment on winter trips. An additional off-road package is planned as an option later. Mercedes-Benz notes that content supplied by motorhome manufacturers is their own responsibility.
Other Sprinter-based debuts are spread across the show: the Core from Rhön Camp, the Kreos H 5109 from LAIKA, the Verge from Offtrack, the TAKLAMAKAN 4×4 XL from AllRoad, the HISPANIOLA from Captain Camper and the Carbon 4×4 from ATLANTIS.
Why the segment matters to Mercedes-Benz
Thomas Klein, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, framed the stand as a statement of intent (translated from the German release):
“Since the invention of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has shaped mobility through innovation. Our ambition to build the world’s most desirable vehicles for our customers is also our motivation in the motorhome segment. Both in direct sales to end customers and in partnership with motorhome manufacturers, the sector has a high strategic value for us. Our appearance at the Caravan Salon Düsseldorf underlines that.”
That matters commercially. Base vehicles for campers and motorhomes are a steady, high-margin corner of the van market, and offering factory all-wheel drive on a fully integrated chassis is the kind of move that converters cannot easily replicate themselves.
140 years, and the car that started it
The historic exhibit is the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Carl Benz filed the patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine” on 29 January 1886, the date Mercedes-Benz treats as the birth of the automobile. The company says its anniversary year is running alongside one of the largest product offensives in its history, and is being marked separately by a “140 Years. 140 Places” tour taking three new S-Class saloons across six continents until October.
The new Marco Polo, the Marco Polo HORIZON and the partner-built Sprinter conversions can be seen at the Caravan Salon Düsseldorf 2026, with the Mercedes-Benz stand in Hall 17.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com