Sheet metal to logistics management: Benz looks to serve more of fleets' needs

Mercedes PRO connect is designed to provide simpler fleet management and communication between fleet manager and drivers. It includes a docket of vehicle management tools for the fleet and a downloadable driver app.

The customizable system can locate any Sprinter in the fleet, providing even satellite views and maps of their precise whereabouts, as well as the usual vehicle routing functionality. Beyond communication and mapping/routing, a geofencing function allows fleet managers to select a certain location, for example, to tell drivers to avoid a particular area like a traffic-jammed city center. Geofencing can be custom-set by drawing lines on a map or using a variety of shapes.

Mercedes PRO connect also monitors vehicles' average mileage and condition with any maintenance alerts, plus shows real-time information like fuel and DEF levels and average fuel consumption. The information available to the fleet manager gets very specific.

For instance, during a demonstration of the services, Mercedes-Benz product manager Frederik Ruhm showed reporters that a particular Sprinter was unlocked and had the driver's side window down. All the information the driver can see in the vehicle is also available — tire pressures, battery condition and so on.

"I have a complete overview of my fleet," Ruhm said. Eight service modules will be available at Mercedes PRO connect's launch to provide that overview and operations control including Vehicle Supervision, Vehicle Operations, Fleet Communication, Maintenance and Repair Management, and electronic logs for drivers.

All Sprinters will have connectivity built in and fleets can opt for the Mercedes PRO offerings at any time, but the services pair up well with the OEM's new MBUX multimedia system. The upcoming Sprinter, which will be available first in Europe in June, is only the second Mercedes-Benz vehicle to have MBUX available.

The telematics and fleet management services and functionality are intended to be updatable and can be further developed going forward. Kowa noted that gives an advantage to the OEM as the provider of those services and fleet features, since Mercedes-Benz as the vehicle manufacturer has access to all the vehicle's data as well as the engineering behind all its components.

The Sprinter also gets a host of advanced safety features that aim to reduce the burden on fleet drivers. A reverse camera can display an image in the rear-view mirror, for example, and an available parking package provides a 360-degree view around the van.

The active cruise control includes a DISTRONIC system that monitors traffic and maintains a safe distance between vehicles, while a blind spot warning system alerts the driver when vehicles are in driver or passenger side blind spots. That system even watches for vehicles and pedestrians crossing behind the Sprinter when reversing and can autonomously brake if necessary.

Similarly, other advanced functions can assist with control and operation of the new Sprinter but don't get in the driver's way, doing their job quietly in the background. One of those is the active lane-keeping warning and assistance, which provides haptic "rumble" feedback via the steering wheel if the vehicle drifts out of its lane. It graduates its response up to actually steering the van back where it needs to go, if necessary, by selectively applying the brakes to specific wheels.