New models '19: Medium

Aug. 9, 2018
Fleet Owner's compilation providing a look at 2019 medium-duty (Classes 4-6) trucks and vans.

Here's our review of the latest models available in the medium-duty segment, Classes 4-6, which is growing and becoming a larger part of many business fleets. And that's happening for a variety of reasons.

Medium-duty trucks allow fleets to fine-tune their equipment to handle only the weight and payload they need, should these trucks match up with their duty cycles. "Right-sizing" for the job at hand rather than overkill with trucks can make for a far more efficient operation. You'll find straight trucks, chassis cabs ready for upfits of all kinds, a few tractors, and the largest work vans across this segment, and often with surprisingly big capabilities.

Launch photo/ info slideshow: Medium-duty models 

Another key factor is that medium-duty trucks don't require a commercial driver's license to operate, which can open up hiring to a much broader potential pool of employees—particularly when driving is secondary to a service being provided as with landscaping, utilities, telecommunications, and many other companies.

Meanwhile, e-commerce and metropolitan area delivery and distribution have continued to grow and are now a major focus in logistics as trucking companies adapt and innovate to meet those needs. Trucks in this class range can be ideal for that space but require flexibility and may have to meet particular requirements.

Manufacturers are responding with some of the widest powertrain and alternative fuel options, including electric and hybrid-electric power, you'll find in any commercial truck segment. And on that note, several OEMs have suggested that medium-duty trucks are the likeliest place that trucking will first "go electric."  

Medium Duty (Classes 4-6)

Chanje 

Chevrolet 

Ford Motor Co. 

Freightliner 

Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. 

Hino Trucks 

International Truck 

Isuzu Motors 

Kenworth Truck Co. 

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck 

Peterbilt Motors Co.  

• Ram Trucks

Workhorse Group 

Go to New models '19: Light-duty models (Classes 1-3)

Go to New models '19: Heavy-duty models (Classes 7-8)

About the Author

Aaron Marsh

Before computerization had fully taken hold and automotive work took someone who speaks engine, Aaron grew up in Upstate New York taking cars apart and fixing and rewiring them, keeping more than a few great jalopies (classics) on the road that probably didn't deserve to be. He spent a decade inside the Beltway covering Congress and the intricacies of the health care system before a stint in local New England news, picking up awards for both pen and camera.

He's written about you-name-it, from transportation and law and the courts to events of all kinds and telecommunications, and landed in trucking when he joined Fleet Owner in July 2015. Long an editorial leader, he's a keeper of knowledge at Fleet Owner ready to dive in on the technical and the topical inside and all around trucking—and still turns a wrench or two. Or three. 

And he's never without a camera, or so rumor has it.

About the Author

Josh Fisher | Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief Josh Fisher has been with FleetOwner since 2017, covering everything from modern fleet management to operational efficiency, artificial intelligence, autonomous trucking, regulations, and emerging transportation technology. He is based in Maryland. 

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