Because fewer drivers these days know how to work a stick and clutch pedal—or even care to—Mack Trucks Inc. says it is now seeing a 70% penetration rate for its mDRIVE 12-speed automated manual transmission (AMT), just one year after making the gearbox standard on its Pinnacle highway semitrucks.
Truckers are rapidly accepting automatics for their efficiency and ease of operation. “Growth of AMTs in the on-highway market is a story of vertical integration, fuel economy and drivers,” says Steve Tam, vice president of Columbus, Ind.-based analyst ACT Research Co. “The number of drivers who know how to drive a standard transmission is dwindling in an already difficult driver market.”