Mack, celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, announced its re-entry into the medium-duty market in January but was forced to push MD production from July to September.
“Mack Trucks is pleased that our new MD Series is being delivered to customers as we speak, and the feedback has been very positive,” said Jonathan Randall, Mack Trucks senior vice president of North American sales and commercial operations.
To establish RVO, Mack invested $13 million, including equipment, tooling and enhancements to the 280,000 square feet of the facility dedicated to producing only Mack’s medium-duty models. The project will result in the creation of 250 jobs, which Antonio Servidoni, Mack vice president, medium-duty operations, said will be filled by the end of February 2021.
The eight-week production delay, Randall said, was largely driven by a pandemic economy that was in tailspin, and the need to develop and implement production methods and standards that comply with CDC guidelines, added Servidoni.
The new truck market is down about 40% from last year, Randall noted, but he expects 2020 to finish stronger than forecasts made during the throes of COVID, “with upward pressure in 2021 in the Class 6 and 7 segments.”
The Mack MD Series is an all-new model range built specifically for medium-duty applications and brings Mack back into the medium-duty segment after an 18 year hiatus. Targeting medium-duty trucking vocations with frequent urban stop-and-go cycles like dry van/refrigerated, stake/flatbed, dump and tank, the introduction of the 25,995 pound Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) MD6, and 33,000 pound GVWR MD7, gives Mack a complete lineup of Class 6 to Class 8 vehicles. Available in 4×2 configurations, both models are exempt from the 12% Federal Excise Tax (FET) and the MD6 model doesn’t require a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to operate for non- hazardous payloads.
