Mack Trucks plans to re-enter the medium duty commercial vehicle market with the unveiling of its new Class 6 and 7 medium duty truck line. The Mack MD Series production will begin in July of 2020.
The new truck line was unveiled during an announcement and ribbon cutting for the new Roanoke Valley Operation (RVO) production facility in Salem, Virginia. Local Virginia officials were on-hand at the new facility, including Virginia Governor Ralph Nordham, to announce the $13 million investment in the production of the new line. Gov. Nordham also approved a $700,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund for the project.
At a time when national transportation and infrastructure funding is a prevalent topic at the federal level, Northam noted backing the development and opening of the RVO was a welcome investment to the region as well. He spoke to the benefits the Mack Trucks plant brings to the area, in addressing the need for jobs outside of major urban areas and investments in manufacturing. At full production, the RVO would add an additional 250 jobs to the southwestern Virginia region.
"Our unemployment rate is one of the lowest it's been for many, many years at 2.6 percent, and we're very proud of that," Northam said, of Virginia job growth. "We have brought in a little bit over $27 billion of capital investment and over 62,000 new jobs to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and it is especially rewarding when we come to a more rural part of Virginia."
Mack Trucks production facilities range across the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
"We've been involved in infrastructure projects in Virginia, across the country, across North America, from large to small," said Martin Weissburg, president, Mack Trucks.
The development of the project to re-introduce a medium duty truck line began in early 2018 during prototype testing in Salem. The 280,000-square-foot RVO facility will be dedicated to the production of the MD Series line.
Why the medium duty market?
Back in 2003, Mack Trucks exited the medium duty market with the discontinuation of its Freedom line. Jonathan Randall, senior vice president, sales and marketing, for Mack Trucks, shared it made sense to the company to reintroduce a medium duty line after aftermarket evaluations and dealer requests to provide a complete lineup of Class 6 through Class 8 vehicles. Several Mack Trucks customers operate businesses requiring more than the Class 8 on-highway or vocational options. The launch of the MD Series line allows Mack Trucks to provide a full portfolio of products to customers for Class 6 through Class 8 vehicles.
"We now have the answer for that single-source solution from a transportation services standpoint," Randall said.
The decision to re-enter the medium duty market also stems from a diversification of the product portfolio, Randall added.
"The medium duty market is a great market. We look at volatility, and we look at other things that go into markets we want to enter into. It's traditionally a pretty steady 90,000 to 100,000 trucks year-over-year in the U.S.and Canada, with about three-quarters of that being Class 6."
When it comes to medium duty product applications, the MD Series looks to serve the dry van and refrigerated box trucks - which makes up about 50 percent of the Class 6 market - plus flatbed, dump trucks, and tanker trucks. In many instances, its customers in pick-up and delivery applications, Randall noted. "These are fleets that their core business, in a lot of instances, is that other than trucking," Randall said. "Trucking is a necessary evil for a lot of them."
New product line details
"(Mack Trucks) started from a solid foundation for the chassis, for the cab, for the exterior, for the interior," Roy Horton, director of product strategy for Mack Trucks said, regarding the development of the MD Series line. "And, for those medium duty components that don't exist in our current product portfolio, we've partnered with several suppliers who are working in the industry for either engine transmissions and axles."
The MD6 Class 6 model offers a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 25,995 lbs and would not require a commercial driver's license to operate for non-hazardous loads. The MD7 Class 7 model provides a GVWR of 33,000 pounds. Both models are exempt from the 12 percent Federal Excise Tax (FET). Presently, the FET rate on diesel fuel is 24.3 cents per gallon.
When it comes to chassis features, the MD6 will offer a 7mm frame thickness while the MD7 will have an 8mm thickness. Horton also highlighted that Mack increased its steel strength standard requirements. "We've made the 120,000 psi steel frame rails standard," Horton said. "The rest of the medium duty industry's standard position is 80,000 psi yield strength rails."
The new cab features a 103" bumper-to-back-of-cab (BBC) measurement, allowing for improved maneuverability, a shorter turning radius, and the ability to add additional load on the front axle. The cab will also have a cab air suspension spec available to improve driver comfort and durability of the vehicle.
Regarding the drivetrain, the MD Series comes standard with the Cummins B6.7L engine, providing 220 to 300 hp and a range of 560 to 660 lb-ft of torque. Mated with the Cummins will be an Allision 2500HS automatic transmission. The Allison 2500RDS is an optional spec for fleets requiring PTOs. Meritor supplied front and rear axles with standard coil spring suspension. An optional Mack Maxlite air suspension is also available.
The MD Series is available in 4x2 configurations with eight wheelbase lengths. The trucks come with 22.5" wheels standard and an optional 19.5" wheel spec.
The Mack MD Series will be supported by Mack’s extensive dealer network through its partnership with Geotab Go Rugged solution which communicates with the Mack Uptime Center.
"This is all a North American truck," Randall said, regarding the production of the MD Series. "We took our existing components and used what we could, and then we partnered with the likes of Cummins, Allison, [and] Meritor to come to market with this."
"We've got an even better story to tell then, years go by and it continues to propagate and grow and we're looking forward to the next decade," Horton said.
