This year, the award-winning Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van range celebrates 15 years of service.

From its international release in 1995 the Sprinter was already in a class of its own: semi-forward control, high-traction rear-wheel drive, timelessly modern looks, spacious cab, an extensive engine range rounded off by a direct-injection diesel unit which was as powerful as it was economical.

The first Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle to be known by a name instead of an abbreviation or combination of numbers, the Sprinter lead the way for other Mercedes-Benz van and truck models with an unprecedented tour de force. Following the Sprinter, the Vito, Vario, Actros and Atego were introduced and within 36 months completely new vans and trucks were on the market in all weight classes.

Even though all have been thoroughly further developed or even entirely reengineered, to this day they form the backbone of the Mercedes-Benz brand's commercial vehicles.

With the start of production in January 1995, the Sprinter took the lead in this grand strategic product initiative. It had some very big shoes to step into at the same time: it was the successor to the T1 van, also referred to internally as the "Bremen" van, named after the site in North Germany where it was first manufactured.

This Bremen van was regarded as a paradigm of longevity, solidity and reliability. In 18 long production years Mercedes-Benz built almost a million units of this model series with the distinctive, angular, short bonnet.

With a longitudinally installed front-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive the Sprinter took up this successful technical concept.

Two million mark cleared

With that the Sprinter continues the successful career that it took up 15 years ago blazing a trail for the big strategic product initiative. It certainly need not fear comparison with its extremely successful predecessor, the T1, in whose footsteps it once followed.

The Sprinter has overtaken the T1 with giant strides: the records show roughly a million units for the "Bremen" van after 18 years in production, whereas the first-generation Sprinter reached the proud figure of 1.7 million manufactured units in a production run of just eleven years through 2006.

Together with the more than 400,000 vehicles of the second generation that have been built to date, the Sprinter even has cleared the two million mark in time for its 15th anniversary