Mack seemed to have pulled out all the stops for their glitzy launch of the company’s new on-highway flagship, the Mack Pioneer, in April, but it looks like they had one left: a complete redesign of their previous flagship, the Anthem, for regional haul applications.
The all-new Mack Anthem was built for the streets, boasting enhanced maneuverability, improved fuel efficiency, and industry-leading driver comfort, Mack said in a virtual announcement this week. The Class 8 truck, available in day cab, 44-inch sleeper, and 64-inch sleeper configurations, will open up for orders in August. Production will start January 2026.
“This is not a facelift or a refresh,” said Fernando Couceiro, VP of highway trucks at Mack Trucks. “This is a brand-new truck from the ground up. We’ve reimagined what a regional haul truck can be, focusing on the features that directly impact our customers’ bottom line.”
The new Anthem sets itself apart with enhanced maneuverability, achieved through a shorter bumper-to-back-of-cab (BBC) length of 113.5 inches versus the Pioneer’s 125.5 inches. This 12-inch difference makes the Anthem ideal for navigating tight spaces and urban environments. The all-new Anthem also has 50-degree turning radius to make backing up easier.
The redesigned hood dramatically improves forward visibility, allowing drivers to see approximately 12 feet closer to the front bumper compared to previous designs, which significantly reduces the risk of front-corner collisions.
The chassis fairing and air dam can also be removed to offer a greater ride height to more easily avoid potholes and curbs and traverse rugged terrain, explained Brian Wright, Mack product specialist.
The new Anthem delivers up to 10% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the previous model, a significant advantage for fleets looking to reduce operating costs. This can translate to approximately $5,000 in annual fuel savings per truck.
“If you want maximum fuel efficiency, the Pioneer is the answer. If you want maximum maneuverability, the Anthem is the answer,” Couceiro asserted. “While both trucks deliver exceptional performance, the Pioneer maximizes fuel efficiency while the Anthem excels in maneuverability, allowing customers to choose the right tool for their specific application.”
Setting a new regional standard
“Much like the Pioneer, it is truly a new standard—not only for Mack, but for the industry,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “These investments are incredibly crucial to Mack but also incredibly impressive, not only to Mack but to the industry as a whole. Take advantage of this. You now have something that I don’t know that anybody else has, which is an offering that covers a complete spectrum of not only Class 6 through 8, but the entire on-highway market. And that’s just a taste of things still to come.”
Randall noted the Anthem has been Mack’s top-seller since 2022, and that brand recognition and respect in the marketplace are too valuable to leave behind.
“It carries the same name as its predecessor because it embodies the same values and attributes with measurable improvements, but is substantially better in all aspects,” he said. “The all-new Anthem delivers improvements in every area that matters to customers’ businesses: fuel efficiency, maneuverability, driver comfort, safety, connectivity, and uptime.”
Mack has positioned the new Anthem to respond to fleet needs by delivering “practical innovations,” Stephen Roy, global president of Mack Trucks, added.
“Building on Mack’s legacy of innovation, the Anthem incorporates many of the same cutting-edge technologies and design principles that we’ve developed for our new Pioneer long-haul model, bringing advanced innovations to today’s regional-haul market,” Roy said.
Comfort and connectivity
The Anthem features the same interior cab space as the Pioneer, providing drivers with a premium work environment designed to reduce fatigue and enhance satisfaction. The cab interior has been completely redesigned, offering exceptional comfort with a cab that’s nine inches wider than the previous model. New wide-base seats feature optional ventilation, heating, and massage functions, while the stand-up sleeper options provide enough headroom for drivers to stand upright. Premium quality mattresses and blackout curtains enable improved rest.
The Anthem also has advanced safety features, including an optional digital mirror system that eliminates traditional blind spots, a standard front airbag, and an Integrated Curtain Airbag (ICA) system. The ICA system is mounted in the overhead compartment above the driver’s left shoulder and deploys in rollover events to protect the driver from impact with side glass. Additional integrated driver assistance systems have demonstrated a 43% reduction in near-miss incidents during controlled testing.
“From an interior perspective, the new Anthem and the Pioneer share the same dimensions, features, and finishes, so our customers can enjoy the same outstanding comfort, no matter which model they choose,” said Vince Lokers, specialist chief designer at Mack Trucks, who designed the interior of the all-new Anthem. “The only difference is that the Anthem won’t offer the big sleeper configuration available with the Pioneer.”
The new Anthem features Mack Connect, the company’s most advanced telematics platform, providing fleet managers with unprecedented visibility into operations.
The MyMack driver app allows drivers to pre-heat or -cool their cab, check fluid levels, and monitor tire pressures from their phones. Over-the-air programming enables overnight software updates without service appointments, while the predictive maintenance system has been shown to reduce unplanned stops by 20%.
