Mack Trucks’ MD Electric, the company’s second battery-electric vehicle. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transportation Topics)
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SONOMA, California — Mack Trucks presented its medium-duty vehicle MD Electric truck from October 30 to November 1 at Sonoma Raceway.
The MD Electric is Mack Trucks’ second battery-electric vehicle. The first was the LR electric garbage truckunveiled in March 2022.
Mack Trucks introduced the MD Electric in March 2023. Its diesel-powered sibling MD was introduced in 2020, after nearly two decades of absence from Mack Trucks in the medium-duty market.
Sweden Volvo Group AGthe parent company of Mack Trucks, wants 35% of vehicles rolling off its global production lines to be electric by 2030. The Volvo Group expects 100% of vehicles rolling off its production lines to be fossil fuel-free by 2040.
Mack Trucks’ presentation of the MD Electric — to journalists, customers and dealers — took place at one of five road courses that will host a NASCAR weekend this season. NASCAR debuted at Sonoma in 1989. The road course features more than 160 feet of elevation change from its highest point (Turn 3a, 174 feet) to its lowest point (Turn 10, 14 feet).
The climb up the hill to Turn 3a is akin to the steep grades that delivery trucks tackle in the track’s closest major city, San Francisco.
And the first thing to note about the MD Electric is how responsive the throttle is; there’s instant power, ideal for any race track elevation gains or delivering to a hilltop bar.
Reporters participated in a drive-by for MD Electric. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transportation Topics)
Braking was easy exiting turn 3a downhill towards a tight right hander. There are three regenerative braking modes as well as air braking. Any nervousness was due to the skill of the driver.
The truck is quiet and its layout is simple.
As reporters roamed the track, there was a tight hairpin before the start/finish straight, what’s called turn 11 on the road course. The hairpin comes after a long descent down the hill in turns 7-10.
The MD Electric was responsive and easy to guide around curves lined with concrete barriers, usually negotiated by much smaller vehicles.
“Operators appreciate responsiveness,” said Scott Barracloughsenior product manager for electric mobility at Mack Trucks, to give us his feedback on how the testing went ahead of the track day.
Barraclough says the MD Electric’s chassis and body fasteners will feature J-bolts rather than U-bolts. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transportation Topics)
The MD Electric is available in Classes 6 and 7. The Class 6 option has a gross vehicle weight rating of 25,995 pounds, and the Class 7 model has a GVWR of 33,000 pounds.
The truck has a maximum payload of 19,400 pounds. The weight of the Class 7 chassis is 13,600 pounds, approximately 3,000 pounds more than the MD 7, while the Class 6 chassis weighs 1,000 pounds more than its counterpart. It is offered in dry/refrigerated van, stake/flat and dump formats.
The MD Electric’s chassis and body fasteners will feature J-bolts rather than U-bolts because they are easier to install and less likely to rub against the wires, Barraclough said.
The batteries are located behind the cabin. The company uses Electric Sea commercially available batteries rather than a proprietary battery, unlike Daimler Truck North Americaof which Freightliner eM2 has started production in recent days at the company’s factory in Portland, Oregon.
Mack Trucks chose lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide chemistry due to its higher energy density and lower weight, George Fotopoulos, head of the e-mobility business unit, said during a presentation to reporters on October 30. “We evaluated a lot of batteries” before settling on the nickel-manganese-cobalt option, he said.
The MD Electric can be charged using both AC and DC connections. Using an AC power source, the truck can be fully recharged in six to 11 hours; With an 80 kWh DC hookup, the truck is ready to go in 100 to 150 minutes, Fotopoulos said.
Mack Trucks expects 70% of MD Electrics on the road to be box trucks, whether dry or refrigerated. About 80% of Mack Trucks’ medium-duty customers drive fewer than 250 miles per day, Fotopoulos said, noting that charging during the workday would be available and that regenerative braking would also improve range.
Volvo’s Keith Brandis and Eric Bond take an in-depth look at how the company’s SuperTruck 2 improves freight transportation efficiency. Log in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
“This truck is one-to-one” when compared to its internal combustion engine competitors, Fotopoulos said. The battery comes in two configurations: 150 kWh and 240 kWh, which have corresponding maximum ranges of 140 miles and 230 miles. These ranges were calculated on a decreasing load basis, he said, adding that deviations from ambient temperatures should also be included in the calculations.
In total, the three-year total cost of ownership is cheaper than a diesel equivalent, he said.
Mack Trucks began taking orders from MD Electric over the summer, Fotopoulos said, adding that the production schedule is not yet complete for 2023. The first deliveries from MD Electric will be made in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“We took care of heavy lifting (with the LR Electric) and now we take care of medium lifting,” he said.
Mack Trucks also introduced medium-duty diesel trucks in September on another NASCAR road course – this one in Wisconsin Road America.
The Volvo Group plans to achieve its 2040 goals by combining battery electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles using bio or renewable fuels.
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