Mercedes-Benz Vans is the official mobility partner of the Rolling Pin Convention 2026 in Dusseldorf, where it is showing a line-up of chilled-transport vans aimed at restaurants, hotels and grocery delivery. The stand includes Vito, Sprinter and eSprinter models with refrigeration bodies from three different converters, headed by a new all-electric eSprinter whose cooling unit runs off the vehicle’s own electrical system. The brand is also using the show to present the new electric VLE, the first model on its modular van architecture. All of it sits under VanSolution, the factory conversion programme Mercedes-Benz says has now grown to 33 partners.
Mercedes-Benz Vans is at the Rolling Pin Convention 2026 in Dusseldorf as the event’s official mobility partner, using its indoor stand and an outdoor area to make a case for the van as a piece of professional kitchen equipment. The theme is cold-chain transport: getting fresh and frozen goods to a restaurant, hotel or customer’s door under controlled conditions.
The company frames the appearance around an anniversary. It says it has been supplying tailored transport solutions for 130 years, a line it traces from the first Benz delivery vehicle of 1896 through to today’s vehicles for retail, eGrocery, catering and hospitality.
Three refrigerated bodies, all available ex-works
The display covers three conventional conversions, each from a different specialist. A Vito with a Kerstner GmbH refrigeration body pairs compact exterior dimensions with a flat roof-mounted cooling unit, which according to the manufacturer keeps it usable in many underground car parks — a practical point for city-centre restaurant deliveries.
A Sprinter converted by Winter Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH moves the cooling unit underfloor and does without a roof structure altogether. Mercedes-Benz says that can benefit aerodynamics and, in turn, help energy or fuel consumption, though no figures are quoted.
The third is a Sprinter with a refrigerated box body from Kiesling Fahrzeugbau GmbH, positioned as the specialist hauler of the group for frozen and fresh products thanks to its large load volume.
All three are orderable through the Mercedes-Benz VanSolution industry solutions programme, meaning the conversion is handled as a factory-available option rather than an aftermarket job.
An electric eSprinter that cools itself
The genuine new item is an all-electric eSprinter with a Kerstner refrigeration body. Here the cooling unit runs electrically off the van’s onboard electrical system, fed by an electric power take-off (ePTO). Mercedes-Benz says the ePTO supplies the refrigeration while the van is charging, while it is driving and during delivery stops — the three phases that have historically been the weak point for battery-electric chilled transport, where operators have often had to fall back on a separate diesel or engine-driven compressor.
The electric VLE joins the stand
Alongside the working vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is showing the new electric VLE. The Grand Limousine is the first vehicle built on the company’s newly developed modular, drivetrain-flexible Van Architecture. The brand highlights generous interior space, a high level of comfort and a long list of equipment options, including configurations for individual shuttle duties — for example at high-end hotels, which is what earns it a place at a hospitality trade event.
What VanSolution now covers
VanSolution has been running for 20 years as the route to factory-available bodies and conversions, spanning construction and trades, retail and logistics, and food transport. For the anniversary, Mercedes-Benz says the partner programme has been significantly expanded to 33 VanSolution partners across numerous European markets, adding emergency and municipal vehicles as well as passenger transport to the sectors already covered.
Solutions from both VanSolution partners and Mercedes-Benz VanPartner companies are now integrated into the Mercedes-Benz Vans website, which the company says gives buyers easier access to the full range of industry-specific conversions.
What it means
For operators, the eSprinter with electrically driven refrigeration is the part worth watching. Cold-chain work is one of the harder van segments to electrify, because the cooling load continues when the vehicle is parked, and a solution powered from the traction battery via an ePTO removes the need for a second power source. That matters in the growing number of European cities with low-emission zones and night-delivery noise limits.
Mercedes-Benz has not published prices, range, consumption or payload figures for the vehicles on display. The Rolling Pin Convention 2026 takes place in Dusseldorf.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com