Paccar Leasing Company (PacLease) will begin offering a medium-duty leasing program called the PacLease Value Spec, the truck maker has announced.

"We're seeing continued growth in the U.S. and Canadian medium-duty lease market, especially in the Class 6 segment since drivers are not required to have CDLs," said Rick Walden, PacLease’s director of sales. "By working with our suppliers, and the applications engineers at Kenworth and Peterbilt, we’ve been able to package a cost-effective lease program that is extremely competitive in the marketplace. What’s more, the spec was done with weight in mind. These trucks are very low in weight to maximize payload."

Paccar plans to offer its Peterbilt Model 330 and Kenworth T270 as primary leasing options to fill this niche. The vehicles are powered by the Paccar PX-7 engine, rated at 220 hp and matched with an Allison 5-speed automatic. The PacLease Value Spec program is especially suited to the food and beverage industry, according to the company.

"We’re working with body suppliers and we have a fast-tracking program in place so our customers can get the bodies installed typically within two weeks," said Walden. "That means a customer can custom order a Value Spec truck from us and have it delivered weeks if not months sooner than if they were to order the stock truck themselves. If a customer needs a medium-duty truck immediately, our franchises are well-equipped with rental units – that means we can very likely get them into a short- or long-term rental to meet immediate delivery needs."

PacLease will offer the full line of heavy- and medium-duty Kenworth and Peterbilt models from Class 5 to Class 8, including cabover models in Class 6 and 7 for those customers needing a truck with a tight turning radius for inner-city deliveries, Walden said.

Industry studies have shown a shift toward full-service leasing, especially with private fleets, according to the 2014 NPTC benchmarking study, cited by the company. More than 66 percent of NPTC members use full-service leasing to some degree, up from 59 percent five years ago.

A recent Beverage World magazine fleet survey pointed out that five years ago, about 32 percent of beverage operators leased some of their trucks. Today, 42 percent lease some trucks. Leasing by bottlers, which was only 11 percent five years ago, has reached 43 percent.