Mack Trucks announced that Vanguard Truck Centers recently achieved Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) status at several of its locations, including in Phoenix, making it the first Mack Certified EV Dealer in Arizona. Vanguard locations in Austin and Houston, Texas are also certified. This certification enables Vanguard to service and support the Mack® LR Electricrefuse truck, Mack’s first fully electric Class 8 vehicle and Mack® MD Electric medium-duty vehicle.
“Mack applauds Vanguard Truck Centers for demonstrating their commitment to building a more sustainable future,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “The investments made in becoming EV certified enhances our service network and helps customers transition toward a zero-tailpipe emission future.”
EV certification requires dealerships to complete a comprehensive sales and technician training program. Facility upgrades are often necessary to accommodate the certification. Vanguard met regularly with the Mack team to ensure they fulfilled the stringent infrastructure, safety, charging and tooling requirements to be EV-certified.
Two dedicated EV-certified technicians have been appointed for each of Vanguard’s three newly certified locations to service and maintain Mack LR Electric and Mack MD Electric vehicles. Vanguard converted one service bay per location to be dedicated to battery-electric vehicles. The Austin location offers $1.4 million in parts inventory and dealerships in Phoenix and Houston each offer $3 million in parts inventory.
“We are very excited with the response from our customers regarding Vanguard’s commitment to Mack’s investment in electric vehicles,” said John Thomas, Vanguard executive vice president of new truck sales. “Additionally, these electric vehicles have resulted in ongoing discussions with conquest customers who have never purchased a Mack truck in the past.”
Vanguard Truck Center’s Austin dealership financed a portable charger with Mack Financial Services to help support their customer’s journey toward electrification. Mack Financial Services offers customized solutions for financing vehicles and charging infrastructures including installation, charging station maintenance and service contracts bundled with the purchase of Mack LR Electric and MD Electric models.
Founded in 1989, Vanguard Truck Centers serves the transportation industry with 26 modern facilities spanning Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Currently, nine locations are Mack Certified Uptime Dealers with additional Vanguard locations actively engaged in implementing procedures and process to become Certified Uptime Dealers.