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Automatic Cars - Past, Present and Future

In the UK, manual transmission cars – cars with a gearstick – have always been more popular than automatic transmission cars. That said, things are changing. With the increase in popularity of clutch-less electric vehicles has come an increase in popularity of automatic vehicles in general. 

In 2024, out of 300 car models available in the UK, only 89 are manual according to gbcarleasing. That’s 18% fewer than in 2023. At that rate of decline, the manual gearbox will be a thing of the past by 2029.

A comprehensive study by online marketplace Car Gurus reviewed the UK's 30 most popular car brands. It found that:

• New manual models on sale fell from 194 in 2018 to 89 this year - a drop of 54 per cent.
• Jeep, Land Rover, Mini and Honda offer only one manual option in their ranges.
• Volkswagen offers the most with ten, followed by Ford and Hyundai, each with six.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders shows that: 

• Over three quarters - 76 per cent - of new car sales were manuals in 2011
• By last year, that figure had fallen to fewer than three in ten vehicles - 28.7 per cent.

Manuals to have completely ceased production include the UK's all-time best-selling car, the Ford Fiesta, which left the assembly line for the last time in July 2023. 

Some manufacturers such as Volvo, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz no longer offer any manual models.

Driving Tests - Learner Drivers and Automatic cars

Learner drivers are also opting for automatics during their driving tests in greater numbers than ever before, accelerating the demise of the manual gearbox.

There were a record 324,064 automatic-only tests taken in 2023, according to official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency figures.

That was an increase of a third since 2022 and 269% more than the 87,844 automatic-only tests taken a decade earlier.

They accounted for 37% of the 865,000 driving tests carried out in 2023.