Novice Drivers Spark Demand for Automated Shifters

utomated truck transmissions — a compromise between classic manuals and the automatics found mainly in cars — are gaining in popularity because of recent production improvements and their appeal among less-experienced drivers, said fleet managers and manufacturing executives.

For years, North American fleet executives shunned automated transmissions except in specialty applications, such as refuse collection, where duty cycles require frequent shifting.

Sources Transport Topics interviewed said the automated transmissions can often save on maintenance costs and increase fuel efficiency with novice drivers, thereby helping justify their higher purchase price, but that first-generation models of the devices were difficult to keep in repair because of the complicated electronics.