Here’s one way to get more electric trucks on the road: Subscription plans

The medium-duty trucking industry – the workhorses of the American economy – is relatively primed to go electric, with the potential to clean up billions of tons of CO2 emissions a year. Mack Trucks is now making that transition a bit simpler with a monthly subscription program for its new electric truck, the MD Electric. 

In hopes of warding off fears of expensive upfront costs, Volvo-owned Mack Trucks is unrolling an all-in monthly subscription and pay-as-you-go mileage program for its medium-duty electric truck, an emission-free offshoot of its diesel version.

The all-in subscription plan, which is US only, starts at a three-year plan requiring a 1,700-mile monthly commitment, with tiered pricing per mile reduced with longer commitments. At the end of the term, customers can renew at a lower price for a total term of six years, buy the vehicle outright, or simply cancel and move on. The subscription includes any charging costs, physical damage insurance, and maintenance costs bundled into the monthly payment, as well as roadside service and repair support. 

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

Electrek’s Take

It’s a nascent industry, but the medium-duty trucking industry is primed to make the electric transition. For one, fleet trucks typically have a set route, making mileage easier to plan, and trucks can return to the depot in the evenings for overnight charging using their own infrastructure. The shift from solely focusing on smaller trucks for last-mile delivery is moving to medium-duty, with other players such as Japan’s Hino and Isuzu working on new models.

Also, it’s a crucial step toward Mack’s goal for 35% of its trucks sold to be electric by 2030 – which will be no small feat. But in the US at least, states like California are adopting a tougher stance on the trucking industry to get polluting ICE vehicles off the road in the coming decades, so the tide is changing, and hopefully changing fast.