The operation will be phased in through the first quarter of 2011 introducing Vito and Sprinter at the Colindale, Croydon, Brentford and East London sites.

In addition, specialist service and repair facilities will be introduced at Romford, Stratford and Croydon.

Mark Middleton, customer service manager at Mercedes-Benz Retail Group, commented: 'The launch of vans across London represents a major investment by MBRG to deliver the excellent levels of customer service that is already provided by our network and we look forward to providing a complete solution for van customers moving forwards.

‘These specific premises have been selected for their positioning on major arterial routes in and out of London, to serve the high proportion of our van customers that travel within the M25,’ he added.

Van centres are already established at Brentford and Park Royal.