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The L7e commercial vehicle is a four-wheeled four-wheeled vehicle that can be designed to meet less stringent requirements compared to normal cars. The curb weight of the L7e commercial vehicle is limited to 600 kg, not including the mass of the batteries in the case of electric vehicles with a design load capacity of 1000 kg or less. Such a high load capacity with low curb weight complicates the selection of the suspension stiffness, which must be non-linearly progressive. The authors of the paper decided to support the design process with the non-linear finite element method due to large deformations, contact and friction between interleafs and the rubber elements between interleafs and the mounting bushings. The proposed method of stiffness evaluation was validated by modeling and experimental testing of commercially available non-linear leaf spring. The article presents the methodology of CAD and FEM modeling, as well as the experimental test stand testing of leaf spring stiffness characteristics. Results of FEM analysis and experimental testing were analyzed and the accuracy of proposed method was evaluated.