Half a year after being founded, Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH (MBVM), a Daimler subsidiary based in Berlin, is launching its first service on the German market. The new, highly flexible rental service goes by the brand name “Mercedes-Benz Van Rental” and is primarily aimed at commercial van customers. The new service is part of the strategic future initiative adVANce and moves Mercedes-Benz Vans another step closer to becoming a provider of holistic system solutions. The focus is on a customer-oriented range of offers, tailored to the individual needs and sector requirements of the van market.
“With Mercedes-Benz Van Rental we are introducing a brand whose services differ significantly from those of the competition. The focus is on the needs of our customers, high flexibility and maximum speed”, states Frank Braband, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH. “As an independently operating company under the umbrella of Daimler Financial Services AG, with its own organisational structure, we are able to offer our customers a whole host of advantages and address their specific demands directly. Our goal with Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH is to become the leading mobility service provider for van customers.”
Mercedes-Benz Van Rental: high flexibility ensures optimum coverage for order spikes
In volatile markets and times, speed and flexibility are essential factors for the success of a business. Setting up your own fleet to tackle sudden order spikes appropriately and profitably is a complex task that requires great administrative effort, and calls for innovative ownership and rental arrangements. This is where Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH comes in, with Mercedes-Benz Van Rental.
The Mercedes-Benz Van Rental portfolio includes innovative rental options, covering periods from 24 hours to several months. Two different rental tariffs are available, each offering a different degree of flexibility and individualisation. At a slightly higher price, the “Flex Tariff”, designed for short-term rentals, offers customers maximum flexibility when it comes to exchanging the vehicle or returning it early if the van is not needed for as long as originally planned. Standard vehicles can be rented under this tariff. A weekend tariff means that the service will also be of interest to private customers who want to rent a van on a short-term basis. The “Fix Tariff”, on the other hand, offers longer-term rental periods from upwards of three months with a high degree of individualisation regarding the rented vans: from individual sector solutions (e.g. refrigerated vans) to customer decals, there are plenty of possibilities on offer. With this tariff, however, returning the vehicle early incurs an additional fee. Further rental options will gradually be added to the portfolio allowing for even more flexibility. These add-on services are to include, for example, insurance options to cover international trips or additional drivers and the possibility of one-way rental. With this wide-ranging portfolio, Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH aims to enhance its customers’ ability to plan their individual transport requirements, helping them to ensure the best possible coverage for capacity bottlenecks and optimum control of expenditure on the fleet, and giving them full transparency of costs.
Mercedes-Benz Van Rental is initially being introduced in Germany and is linked to existing rental points, for example Mercedes-Benz sales and service outlets and Mercedes-Benz partners. In the next stage, the company is planning to offer the portfolio in other European countries and, in the longer term, the United States. In addition to the geographical expansion, the company is also planning end-to-end digitisation of the rental process in future, freeing it from the restrictions of concrete locations and opening hours.
Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH: individual services from a single source instead of standardised products
Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH (MBVM) was founded as part of Mercedes-Benz Vans’ strategic future initiative adVANce and operates under the umbrella of Daimler Financial Services AG. This means that the company not only has access to the highest van expertise but also to high expertise when it comes to rentals and leasing. For the rental business MBVM has built its own fleet from the entire Mercedes-Benz Vans product range, with a broad mix of standard and sector-specific vehicles.
As a result, the company appeals to a broad spectrum of commercial customers in the diverse van market, for example the courier, express and parcel industry, trades, passenger transport operators and ridesharing companies, service industries and the rapidly growing food delivery sector (eGrocery). Here MBVM differs from its competitors who essentially offer highly standardised vans.
Alongside the rental business, the company intends in future to develop new digital mobility solutions and services that go beyond physical vehicle rental, for example fleet management services (fleet administration and operation) or on-demand transport solutions and (van)-sharing models. Service leasing, maintenance management and accident recovery also form part of the Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH portfolio plans. All services are integrated into the digital ecosystem of the new service umbrella brand for commercial vans – Mercedes PRO – which was presented to the public for the first time at the IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hanover.
