Mercedes-Benz Vans is now offering a free Van Uptime Monitor Digital Extra to help operators cut vehicle downtime.

Available free of charge across the brand’s commercial midsize and large vans, the new tool supports fleets with a proactive approach to preventative maintenance, slashing unexpected downtime and optimising maximum operating time.

With the Van Uptime Monitor Digital Extra, Mercedes-Benz Vans helps its customers to manage the vehicle issues that arise as a result of intensive daily use over time before a failure occurs.

The Digital Extra, which can be used for both business and private Mercedes-Benz customer profiles, provides the customer with full transparency about the technical condition of their vehicles through a digital customer dashboard and helps them to efficiently plan required workshop visits, avoid unplanned downtime and, in the event of a short-term problem, move straight onto tackling the problem.

Van Uptime Monitor intelligently networks customers’ vehicles with their vehicle management and the Mercedes-Benz workshops. Various technical vehicle data such as the oil level, tyre pressure and data on a possible imbalance in the front wheels are made available in real time transparently via a new digital dashboard on the Mercedes‑Benz website.

If necessary, real-time notifications in three urgency levels are used to suggest specific recommendations for action:

• Vehicle information: no acute need for action. Customers receive simple tips on maintenance, which can easily be carried out by themselves to save time.
• Repair recommendation: Customers receive information about foreseeable and necessary repairs and based on this, can coordinate workshop appointments individually with the Mercedes‑Benz service partner of their choice. This allows the workshop visit to be efficiently planned and genuine parts to be made available in good time.
• Urgent warning: In the event of an imminent stranding, customers receive a direct call from the Mercedes‑Benz Customer Assistance Centre and can plan a workshop visit. The vehicle is forwarded quickly to the nearest service partner and is ready for use again as quickly as possible.

Mercedes‑Benz Vans said the new tool would help fleets optimise vehicle operating time, efficiency and transparency.

Sagree Sardien, head of sales & marketing, said: “At Mercedes-Benz Vans, there is a clear focus on creating value for our customer. The central performance promise to our commercial customers is the maximisation of the uptime of their vehicles. With the Van Uptime Monitor Digital Extra, we take this one step further through offering an outstanding and tailor-made premium feature to our customers as a complimentary tool that focuses on operational capability through the technical vehicle status and real-time diagnosis functionality.”