The dealership has been launched by JCB Group, which also represents two car manufacturers whose ranges include vans.
The new business is trading initially from a showroom on the A2, at Rainham, where visitors can see examples from the Sprinter, Vito and Citan ranges, as well as X-Class pick-up models.
The facility has undergone a £100,000 upgrade and its new owner plans to add other facilities in the county, from where it will sell and support the LCVs.
JCB Group managing director Jonathan Bischoff says: “Our new Mercedes-Benz Vans franchise represents a very exciting opportunity, and we are immensely proud to be adding such a prestigious brand to our portfolio.
“I was struck from our first discussions with the Mercedes-Benz Vans team, by the extent to which we share the same vision. JCB’s van sales operations are very car-orientated in terms of the attention we pay to customer care and satisfaction, and our primary focus on retail business and SMEs with up to 25 vans.
“In both respects this puts us on exactly the same wavelength as our new partner,” he adds.
Mercedes-Benz Vans’ head of network operations Sarah Palfreyman says: “We put a lot of time and effort into securing the best possible representation for our brand in Kent, and have every confidence that Jonathan Bischoff and his colleagues will now deliver the industry-leading quality of service that our customers are entitled to expect.”
Bischoff is pictured in the Mercedes-Benz Vans pop-up store, which was open for five weeks in the run-up to Christmas at Kent’s Bluewater shopping and retail centre.
UPDATED 8 January 17:00. Removed reference to UK construction equipment manufacturer JCB (JC Bamford), which shares the same name but is otherwise completely independent of the dealership.