Mercedes-Benz has launched a range of new environmental and fuel-saving initiatives in its van range in a bid to protect market share as sales of light commercial vehicles go into freefall.

Sales of vans under 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight are down by 47% so far this year and the German manufacturer believes that increasing its ‘green’ profile – and in many cases saving fuel at the same time – will help persuade fleet buyers to choose its models. Its UK market share currently stands at 15.7%

In July, new 2.2-litre Euro V-compliant diesel powerplants will replace the old Euro IV units on Sprinter, which promise to cut fuel consumption by 11%. It will be the first time that Euro V engines are available on panel vans of this size.

Trailer towing capacity will increase to 3.5 tonnes and there will also be an enhanced ESP traction control system as standard and the option of a new trailer stability assist system, another first in the panel van sector.

Later in the summer Mercedes-Benz will launch a new CNG (compressed natural gas) Sprinter, the NGT, which will run either on natural gas or petrol. Power is provided via a 1.8-litre supercharged petrol engine.

Sales of this model are likely to be hampered by the fact that there is no refuelling infrastructure in Britain for CNG, but Steve Bridge, van sales and marketing director, believes there will be a healthy demand for the new model from fleets which can bunker CNG on site.

He said: “We looked at an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) version, which would be capable of being refilled at garages, but we decided it was not an area that was worth investing in. We are working on the infrastructure problem at the moment but we believe this NGT Sprinter will be of interest to local councils who want to increase their green credentials, and London-based fleets as the NGT will escape the congestion charge. We are also looking at sales to the 2012 Olympic games contractors.”

The biggest problem with the new Sprinter NGT will be residual values – few second-hand buyers are likely to want a van which can’t be refuelled at a conventional filling station. To combat this problem, Mercedes-Benz has decided to build such considerations into its sales package.

Bridge said: “We’ll make offers to doubters of CNG through our own contract hire arm and we’ll take the residual value risk. We will be competitive on price and we are predicting residual values on a par with Sprinter diesel models.”

Mercedes-Benz has already launched a new EcoStart Sprinter, which automatically switches the engine off when the van has been stationary for two seconds. This model is reckoned to save between 7-10% in fuel for urban fleets and so far 400 models have been sold.

Ian Jones, Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle managing director, said 2009 is likely to be the smallest commercial vehicle market in the last 100 years.

He said: “There is no basis on which we can plan realistically. In 37 years in this business I’ve not seen a situation like it – it’s tough but we aren’t in panic mode and the way we are dealing with these challenges makes me proud.”

Mercedes-Benz has managed to avoid having fields full of unsold vans by cutting production as soon as the warning signs were spotted. Jones said: “Our approach was to stop production apart from vehicles that were already sold. It has been a painful process but this way we only have the equivalent of three weeks’ worth of sales in normal times that remain unsold.”

Jones added: “All manufacturers are feeling the pinch at present and some dealers and manufacturers won’t be here in years to come. But the cream always rises to the top and we’ll be doing just that.”