Mack Announces Series Production of MD Electric at Work Truck Week

March 12, 2024

Matt Wolfe

Mack Trucks announced that series production and deliveries have begun for its second battery-electric truck, the MD Electric. Production MD Electrics have reportedly been delivered to ABF Freight, DC Logistics, Mission Linen and Pronto Freight Ways to begin operations and testing. The announcement was made at Mack’s booth during NTEA’s Work Truck Week in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“We’re thrilled that the Mack MD Electric is in full production and that customers are beginning to take delivery of the trucks,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “We built on the success of the diesel-powered Mack MD Series to bring an electric vehicle to the medium-duty market to help customers meet their sustainability goals with the same Mack promise of durability and reliability.”

Mack has laid out ambitious targets for the electrification and decarbonization of their fleet. According to the company’s presentation at Work Truck Week, the company is targeting a mix of 35% electric vehicles by 2030 and a 100% fossil-free rolling fleet by 2050. These targets will reportedly be achieved via a combination of technologies including BEVs, FCEVs and bio/renewable ICE powertrain.

Out to SEA

The MD Electric is the electric sister truck to the diesel-powered MD. Both variants of the MD are produced at Mack’s Roanoke Valley, Virginia plant. The MD Electric was announced at last year’s NTEA show. It is available in Class 6 and Class 7 ratings with a GVWR of 25,995 lbs. (11,791 kg) for the Class 6 variant while the Class 7 model has a GVWR of 33,000 lbs. (14,968 kg). Max payload of MD Electric is 19,400 lbs. (8,800 kg).

The MD Electric is equipped with Meritor axles with a 5.57 ratio. This provides the MD Electric with an effective cruising speed of roughly 70 mph (112 km/h). The batteries and powertrain for the MD Electric are supplied by SEA Electric. The SEA-Drive 120 and 180 power-systems are NMC chemistry 394V air-cooled packs and are available in both 150kWh and 240kWh configurations. SEA Electric entered a five-year agreement to supply Mack Trucks with their powertrain solution in March 2023.

The packs are recharged through a CCS 1 connector that is capable of both AC and DC fast-charging. The batteries power a three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor with a continuous output of 138 kW (185 hp) and 1300 Nm (960 lb-ft) and a peak output of 195 kW (260 hp) and 2500 Nm (1850 lb-ft).

The MD Electric also features an electric E-PTO motor with a peak output of 10 kW (13.4 hp) and a 3500-rpm max speed. The E-PTO is fixed to the chassis via an SAE A 2-bolt mounting system.

Current feedback

SAE Media interviewed Scott Barraclough, Senior Product Manager E-Mobility on the show floor at Work Truck Week and discussed some of the design details of the MD Electric as well as overall customer reception to the truck’s performance.

“The first things they our customers tend to notice is how quiet the truck is,” Barraclough said. “The other aspect our customers love is the performance off the line. There’s no waiting for the torque converter to catch up or the turbo to spool. You just hit the pedal and you’re off. Our customers really love that.”

Barraclough also discussed the development process from prototype to production and some of the unique features of the MD Electric. “We really didn’t have many major changes from prototype to production,” he said. “Mostly tweaking the regen and how that performs and other minor software changes.”

Barraclough pointed out the E-PTO as one of the most important features of the MD Electric. “The E-PTO is a necessity for trucks like these and is very important to our customers,” he said. “We needed to provide that capability so that they could run smaller hydraulic devices. It’s a little different concept than a PTO on a combustion truck because that will mount to the transmission, which obviously we do not have on a battery-electric truck.”

Barraclough also affirmed Mack’s decision to outsource the powertrain of the MD Electric. “We have our own in-house solution powering our LR Electric, but this is a different animal. We felt that this system was a better fit and offered a turnkey solution that would allow faster time to market with a proven powertrain solution.”

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