Mercedes to end Citan/T-Class production in 2026

In a dealer memo published by several German media, Mercedes-Benz has announced the early retirement of its small van class. The Citan, T-Class, and their electric counterparts will cease production in Q2 2026, ending Mercedes’ involvement in the genre and severing the last ties with Renault.

The Mercedes Citan was first introduced in 2012 as a compact van, complementing the larger Vito and Sprinter models. It was the fruit of Renault’s collaboration, including shared engines and joint development for the Smart Forfour/Renault Twingo.

No room for underperforming products

The first Citan was heavily based on the Renault Kangoo, but the second generation, launched in 2021, got more Mercedes involvement, although Renault still produces both models in Maubeuge, France.

This generation also got a fully electric variant, but with only 44.5 kWh of battery capacity, the range was underwhelming while compromising on interior space.

Now, with Mercedes striving for a more premium model range with a higher profit margin, it seems that the Franco-German van and ludo space does not fit in this new vision by CEO Ola Källenius. The memo sent to German dealers reads:

“Following the ‘Growth in Profitable Segments’ strategy communicated at the Mercedes-Benz Strategy Update in May 2023, we target our investments and further optimize our product portfolio. We will, therefore, focus on the midsize and large van segments in the future and end our involvement in the small van segment next year.”

Earlier than expected

This is somewhat of a surprise, as the Citan/T-Class range was expanded just last year with the highly anticipated long-wheelbase variants with up to 7 seats. However, Mercedes has decided to pull the plug with sales dropping to just 28,500 units in 2024, down from 31,500 small vans the year before.

This means that the Citan panel van, the Citan Tourer passenger version, the more upmarket T-Class, and the electric eCitan, and EQT will exit the model range in mid-2026.

This concludes the partnership with Renault, which was already as good as over, with Mercedes electing a few years ago not to use French engines anymore and selling its stake in the French manufacturer in 2021.

As for the future, Mercedes will focus on its larger vans. The V-Class and Vito are set to be totally renewed in 2026, with both electric and combustion-powered versions coming on the brand-new VAN.EA and VAN.CA modular architectures. The Renault Kangoo and its Japanese counterpart, the Nissan Townstar, will stay in production for the foreseeable future.