Mack Trucks has kicked off its 125th anniversary with exciting developments for its customers. Jonathan Randall, President of Mack Trucks North America, recently described this significant milestone as “a monster year for Mack,” signaling a strong start for the company. But rather than just celebrating, Mack is giving back with new advancements to its connectivity platform.
The latest updates include automatic software updates through its over-the-air (OTA) update platform and a self-service feature allowing fleets to modify truck parameters directly through Mack Connect.
Simplifying Updates with AutoSend
Nicole Portello, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Mack Trucks, likened the new AutoSend update feature to how smartphones handle system updates. AutoSend notifies fleets and drivers via the in-cab Driver-Display Activation when an OTA update becomes available. From there, fleets have up to 28 days to decide when to install the update.
Best of all, AutoSend ensures updates can be performed whenever the truck is parked, without requiring any intervention from drivers, fleet managers, or Mack’s customer care team. “It gives a lot of control and a lot of power back to the fleets,” said Portello, noting that trucks running the latest software experience 22% less unplanned downtime.
Since its launch, Mack’s telematics gateway—standard on all Mack trucks with Mack engines over the past 10 years—has been installed in 200,000 of its Class 8 trucks. Of those, 73,000 trucks are currently subscribed to Mack’s Integrated Uptime bundle, and over 24,000 remote updates have been completed.
Starting in the coming weeks, AutoSend will be a standard feature for customers with trucks equipped with Driver-Display Activation, a digital dashboard interface allowing drivers to review and install updates directly. This feature is available on most Mack-powered trucks built after November 30, 2020, and customers can choose to opt out if desired. According to Portello, fewer than 100 current subscribers have elected to opt out of the program so far.
Self-Serve Vehicle Parameters by Mid-Year
By mid-year, Mack will further streamline operations for its customers with the introduction of self-serve parameter changes through Mack Connect. This new capability will enable motor carriers to independently adjust settings like road speed limits and idle shutdown parameters, as well as create profiles specific to each truck.
Previously, making these types of adjustments required help from Mack’s Uptime Center or a trip to a dealership. Now, fleets can manage these changes themselves, directly within the Mack Connect portal.
As Mack Trucks celebrates 125 years of innovation and leadership, it continues to push boundaries in connectivity and fleet efficiency—proving that it’s not just a giant in history, but also in the future of trucking.
Source: Commercial Carrier Journal
