The Volkswagen Crafter, introduced in 2006, is the largest three- to five-ton
van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
produced and sold by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
automaker
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV; german: Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge , abbreviated ''VWN'' ) is a German brand, marque of light commercial vehicles, owned by Volkswagen Group. It is headquartered in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. Originall ...
. The Crafter officially replaced the
Volkswagen Transporter LT
The Volkswagen Transporter LT is the largest light commercial panel van produced by Volkswagen (and subsequently Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as of 1996) from 1975 to 2006, before being replaced by the Crafter. Two generations were produced ...
that was launched in 1975, although it is known as the LT3, its
production plant code.
Like the
second-generation LT, the first-generation Crafter is a rebadged
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle ( van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...
, built by
Daimler AG
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
, with a powertrain by Volkswagen. The Daimler variant has been also sold by Daimler as the
Freightliner Sprinter Freightliner may refer to:
* Freightliner Trucks, a heavy vehicle brand of Daimler AG
* Freightliner Group, a European rail-freight operator
* Freight liner (ship), describing a cargo ship operating to a repeating schedule
See also
*
*
*
*Freigh ...
and
Dodge Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle ( van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...
. An
all-electric variant, the e-Crafter, was released in 2017.
[
Starting with the 2017 model year, the Crafter has been designed and built by Volkswagen, and no longer associated with the Sprinter. A version of the Crafter is also sold by ]MAN Truck & Bus
MAN Truck & Bus SE (formerly MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG, ) is a subsidiary of Traton, and one of the leading international providers of commercial vehicles. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, MAN Truck & Bus produces vans in the range from 3.0 to 5.5 t ...
as the MAN TGE. Its major Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an competitors include the Renault Master
The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans as ...
, Ford Transit
The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...
, Fiat Ducato
The Fiat Ducato is a light commercial vehicle jointly developed by FCA Italy and PSA Group (currently Stellantis), and mainly manufactured by Sevel, a joint venture between the two companies since 1981. It has also been sold as the Citroën C25, ...
, Maxus eDeliver 9, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle ( van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...
, Iveco Daily
The Iveco Daily is a large light commercial vehicle, light commercial van produced by the Italy, Italian automaker Iveco since 1978; it was also sold as the Fiat Daily by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat until 1983. Unlike the more car-like unibody Fiat D ...
, and Hyundai H350
The Hyundai H350, also known as the Hyundai Solati in South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, and Hyundai Solati H350 in Mexico, is a light commercial 5-door van manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai. The vehicle was introduced at th ...
.
First generation (''Typ'' 2E/2F, 2006–2017)
Production plants
The first-generation Crafter was built in the Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
Ludwigsfelde
Ludwigsfelde is a town in the north of the district Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg.
Geography
Location
The town is located south of Berlin in the district Teltow-Fläming on the plateau of Teltow. In earlier times, it was part of the district Zo ...
and Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
plants, the same German factories where the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is built.
Design
French car designer Laurent Boulay
Laurent may refer to:
*Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname
**Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent
**Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician
**Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...
is responsible for the frontal design of the Crafter, which takes cues from the Volkswagen Constellation
The Volkswagen Constellation is the flagship truck produced by the Brazilian manufacturer Volkswagen Truck & Bus since 2005. The line covering the 13-57 tonne gross combination mass (GCM) segment. It is produced at Resende in Brazil, and is p ...
.
Engines
From launch in 2006 up to 2010, all internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
s were based upon Volkswagen Group's re engineered 2.5 litre R5 TDI. This turbodiesel
The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...
is an inline five-cylinder (R5) Turbocharged Direct Injection
TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor.
TDI engines are used in motor vehicles sold by th ...
(TDI) diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
.
It displaces , and uses what was the latest common rail
Common rail direct fuel injection is a direct fuel injection system built around a high-pressure (over ) fuel rail feeding solenoid valves, as opposed to a low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors (or pump nozzles). High-pressure injection ...
fuel system, with piezoelectric
Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied Stress (mechanics), mechanical s ...
actuated injectors for the cylinder-direct fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
. It also utilises a diesel particulate filter
A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine.Tom Nash (May 2003) "Diesels: The Smoke is clearing", ''Motor '' Vol.199 No. 5, p. 54, Hearst Business Publ ...
(DPF), allowing all engine variants to comply with Euro IV European emission standards
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...
.
The 2010 version of the 2.5 TDI CR engine was redesigned, correcting the previous problems of turbo failure. An engine update was also released under the guise of "Blue TDI", which used AdBlue – or diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) – in combination with a DPF to attain the more stringent Euro V EEV European emission standards
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...
.
Features
The Crafter is available in three wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
options; , and . It is equipped with front airbag
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...
s as standard, and side and curtain airbags as options, along with anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaini ...
(ABS), load adapting electronic stability programme (ESP), anti-slip regulation (traction control) (ASR), and electronic differential lock (EDL).
The electronic differential lock (EDL) employed by Volkswagen is not, as the name suggests, a differential lock at all. Sensors monitor both roadwheel speeds across a driven axle, and if one is rotating substantially faster than the other (i.e. slipping) the EDL system momentarily brakes it. This effectively transfers the torque to the other driven wheel which is deemed to still have grip.
Payloads and gross vehicle weights
The Crafter Chassis and Double Cabs models have payloads ranging from , and come in gross vehicle weights (GVW) of either 3.5 or 5.3 tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s.
Conversions based on the Volkswagen Crafter
The Crafter is an ideal base vehicle for minibus
A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...
conversions, and Volkswagen have a list of accredited vehicle conversion specialists.
Awards
The Crafter has won a number of motor industry awards, including:
* 2006 ''What Van?'' – Overall Van of the Year ( UK)
* 2006 ''What Van?'' – Large Van of the Year (UK)
* 2007 ''Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
'' – Large Van of the Year (UK)
* 2007 ''Van Fleet World'' – Best Large Panel Van (UK)
* 2007 ''Delivery Magazine'' – Large Van of the Year (Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
)
* 2008 ''Professional Van and Light Truck Magazine
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
'' – Best Van derived Chassis Cab of the Year (UK)
File:VW Crafter front 20071215.jpg, Front (Europe; pre facelift)
File:VW Crafter rear 20071215.jpg, Rear (Europe; pre facelift)
File:Letiště Ruzyně, minibus CEDAZ (02).jpg, Volkswagen Crafter Minibus
First generation facelift (2011–2017)
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles released a revised Crafter in April 2011. The design of the grille was changed to the current design language of the Volkswagen brand. New power trains based on the 2.0L TDI producing 80 kW/109 PS, 100 kW/136 PS and BiTDI 120 kW/163 PS with the engine revised the payload was increased by up to 10% on some models. The facelift appeared 2 years before the Sprinter on which its based got its own facelift.
Engines
In 2011, the 2.5 litre engine was replaced by the 2.0 litre TDI, which utilises exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in conjunction with a diesel particulate filter
A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine.Tom Nash (May 2003) "Diesels: The Smoke is clearing", ''Motor '' Vol.199 No. 5, p. 54, Hearst Business Publ ...
(DPF), allowing all engine variants to comply with Euro 5b (Euro V) European emission standards
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...
, which came into force in September 2011.
In March 2012 the Crafter 4Motion variant was released as an option with one engine BiTDI . The four wheel drive system is supplied and fitted by Austrian specialists Achleitner.
File:VW Crafter 2.0 TDI (Facelift) – Frontansicht, 9. Juli 2012, Velbert.jpg, Facelift front (2011)
File:VW Crafter 2.0 TDI (Facelift) – Heckansicht, 9. Juli 2012, Velbert.jpg, Facelift rear (2011)
Second generation (''Typ'' SY/SZ, 2017–present)
The second generation of the Volkswagen Crafter was developed entirely by Volkswagen, after the end of their collaboration with Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
. The new design corresponds with the current design line of Volkswagen, and comes in Startline or Trendline trim. The motorhome variant, called the Volkswagen Grand California, was first shown at the 2018 Caravan Salon Düsseldorf. The Grand California comes in two lengths; the 6.0 metre (600) and the 6.8 metre (680) and went on sale at the beginning of 2019.
The second generation Crafter is built in Września
Września (german: Wreschen) is a town in west-central Poland with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). It is situated in the Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Poznań Voivodeship (1975–1998), on the Wrześnica Riv ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, with a new factory being built specifically for its production. Planned volume is 85,000 vehicles per year, on a 220 ha sized site (300,000 square metres under roof). The cost of the new plant was about 800 million EUR
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . Th ...
.
Engines
e-Crafter
In September 2016, Volkswagen unveiled the e-Crafter all electric van at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. The concept e-Crafter has a 43 kWh
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
battery that delivers an estimated range of . The van payload is rated at 1,709 kg, and cargo space is listed at 11.3 cubic meters. The e-Crafter has a and electric motor, and top speed is limited to . The electric van is production ready, and retail deliveries were slated for 2017.[
]
Grand California
At the 2017 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen presented the California XXL motorhome
A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation.
Features
Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...
concept, based on the Crafter. The 6.2 m long vehicle has a standing height of 2.2 m and is equipped with underfloor heating. The production version was named Grand California and the model went on sale in 2019. It is the larger version of the Volkswagen Transporter
The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its seventh generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 70 years and marketed worldwide.
The T series is now considered an official list of Volkswagen Gr ...
based Volkswagen California
The Volkswagen California is a campervan based on the mid-sized Transporter panel van, developed by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) and sold since 2003. It is the first campervan designed and built in-house by VWCV Special Business Unit, a ...
.
MAN TGE
The second generation Crafter is also sold by MAN Truck & Bus
MAN Truck & Bus SE (formerly MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG, ) is a subsidiary of Traton, and one of the leading international providers of commercial vehicles. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, MAN Truck & Bus produces vans in the range from 3.0 to 5.5 t ...
as the MAN TGE. MAN is a brand of TRATON
Traton SE, known as the Traton Group (formerly Volkswagen Truck & Bus AG), is a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with its MAN, Scania, Navistar, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônib ...
, which is the Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
's heavy commercial vehicle division. The MAN TGE has a wide range of body types, with the van primarily being sold as a panel van, but also available as a tipper, dropside or crew cab variant.
Electric version
The all-electric MAN eTGE was unveiled in March 2018 and entered series production in July that year. It can carry up to of load. The maximum power of its permanently excited synchronous motor
A synchronous electric motor is an AC electric motor in which, at steady state,
the rotation of the shaft is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current; the rotation period is exactly equal to an integral number of AC cycles. Sync ...
is , the maximum torque over the entire speed range is . The maximum speed is limited to 90 km/h, and the purchase price was around 69,500 euros in 2018.
File:2018 Volkswagen Crafter CR35 Startline TD 2.0 Front.jpg, Second generation Crafter front
File:2018 Volkswagen Crafter CR35 Startline TD 2.0 Rear.jpg, Second generation Crafter rear
File:Dashboard new Volkswagen Crafter.jpg, Second generation Crafter dashboard
File:MAN TGE 3.140 IMG 3856.jpg, MAN TGE
Competitors
* Fiat Ducato
The Fiat Ducato is a light commercial vehicle jointly developed by FCA Italy and PSA Group (currently Stellantis), and mainly manufactured by Sevel, a joint venture between the two companies since 1981. It has also been sold as the Citroën C25, ...
, aka Citroën Relay/Jumper, Opel/Vauxhall Movano, Peugeot Boxer, Ram ProMaster
* Ford Transit
The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...
* Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle ( van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...
* Renault Master
The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans as ...
, aka Nissan NV400/Interstar (previously Opel/Vauxhall Movano)
References
External links
Official Site
{{Authority control
Crafter
Vans
Electric vans
Minibuses
Vehicles introduced in 2006