LOUISVILLE, Ky — Volvo Trucks is taking the bold move of offering its I-Shift automated manual transmission (AMT) as standard on all Volvo-powered trucks built for the North American market, the company’s new president of sales and marketing Goran Nyberg, announced at the Mid America Trucking Show this morning.

Sales of the Volvo I-Shift reached record levels in 2012, Nyberg explained, with 46% of Volvo trucks sold with the I-Shift.

Introducing I-Shift as standard across the Volvo product lineup reflects “our confidence in its performance and the value it provides to our customers and their operations,” Nyberg said. “The Volvo I-Shift is a tremendous tool to help combat rising fuel costs and improve driver productivity and safety. I-Shift is also proven to help attract, train and retain drivers.”

Manual transmission options, however, will still be available for those who prefer them.

Since its introduction in 2001, Volvo has sold more than 330,000 I-Shifts globally, and is currently building more than 80 percent of trucks globally with the I-Shift.

The 12-speed Volvo I-Shift is able to downshift and upshift in smaller, optimum steps – averages 28 percent – between gears compared with competitive transmissions, which average 37 percent steps between gears, according to Volvo.

Integrated sensors identify truck load and road grade to place the truck in the right gear. I-Shift also reduces wasted revs and boosts fuel efficiency by up to 1.56 percent when compared to an unproductive driver, according to Volvo.

I-Shift is a central component to Volvo’s XE – exceptional efficiency – powertrain package, which further reduces fuel consumption by lowering engine rpm at a given vehicle speed, a concept Volvo calls “downspeeding.” Volvo’s XE packages downspeed the engine at cruising speeds by 200 rpm or more than traditional specs, so trucks spec’d with XE13 cruise at just 1,150 rpm at 65 mph, while the XE16 powertrain package can cruise as low as 1,100 rpm at 65 mph.