Mack Trucks offers a stress-free way to adopt an EV: subscription plans

The medium-duty trucking industry—the backbone of the U.S. economy—is relatively poised to transition to electric vehicles, with the potential to clean up billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Mack Trucks is now making that transition a little easier with a monthly subscription program for its new electric truck, MD Electric.

Hoping to head off fears of expensive upfront costs, Volvo-owned Mack Trucks is launching an all-inclusive, pay-as-you-go monthly subscription program for its medium-duty electric truck, a zero-emissions offshoot of its diesel version.

The comprehensive subscription plan, which is for the US only, starts with a three-year plan that requires a monthly commitment of 1,700 miles, with tiered pricing per mile to reduce longer commitments. At the end of the term, customers can renew at a lower price for a total of six years, buy the car outright, or cancel and move on. The subscription includes any shipping costs, physical damage insurance, and maintenance costs bundled into the monthly payment, plus roadside service and repair support.

Earlier this year, Mack Truck unveiled the Mack MD Electric, its first electric model in the medium-duty segment. Produced in Roanoke Valley, Virginia, the MD Electric comes with two battery options, 150 kWh or 240 kWh, and offers a range of 140 to 230 miles. The truck is the brand’s second electric vehicle offering, following the Mack LR Electric garbage truck as of 2021. The MD Electric offers both AC and DC charging, with the 240 kWh option estimated to take just under three hours to recharge.

Take Electric

It’s a young industry, but the medium-duty trucking industry is poised for the electric transformation. For example, fleet trucks usually have a set route, which makes planning mileage easier, and trucks can return to the depot in the evening to charge overnight using their own infrastructure. The shift from focusing solely on pickup trucks for last-mile delivery is moving to medium trucks, with other players such as Japan’s Hino and Isuzu working on new models.

It’s also a critical step toward achieving Mack’s goal of having 35% of its trucks sold electric by 2030 — which will be no easy feat. But in the United States at least, states like California are adopting a tougher stance on the trucking industry to keep polluting ICE vehicles off the road in the coming decades, so the tide is turning, and hopefully quickly.