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The idea of grinding gears when taking off from the lights is being lost due to advances in technology.
New analysis reveals that the number of people taking driving tests in an automatic car has more than tripled in a decade.
At the same time, more than 70 percent of new cars registered in 2023 were automatic.
The change occurs in a context of the rise of electric cars and the decision of manufacturers to eliminate gearboxes from conventional vehicles.
As a result, most new models now operate in the same way as a bumper car or milk float, albeit at surprising speed from a standstill.
New analysis reveals that the number of people taking their driving test in an automatic car has more than tripled in a decade
Almost 1.7 million people took the driving test last year, of which 324,000 (19 percent) did so in vehicles with automatic gearboxes.
This is more than three times greater than the 96,000 automated tests, which represented 7 percent of the total, carried out ten years ago.
The figures have been compiled by What Car? who maintain that the ability to drive a car using the stick shift is becoming a lost art.
It said: “New car model range and sales data show that only 24 per cent of new cars on sale are available with a manual gearbox, a figure which is likely to fall further in the coming years.”
“The abandonment of learning in manual cars could continue to accelerate: automatic cars will account for 71.3 percent of registrations in 2023, compared to 28.7 percent for cars with manual gearboxes.”
He said the rise of automatic cars means it’s easier (and cheaper) for people to learn to drive because they won’t need to spend hours learning how to control the clutch and start on hills.
Despite that, what car? found that the approval rate of automatic cars is lower than that of manual cars. He said this is because students who drive cars tend to take the test before they have gained as much experience on the road and awareness of road safety.
Signs of change also come from driving instructors, where demand for cars with automatic gearboxes is increasing. Data from the AA Driving School shows that in 2023, more than a third of people training to be instructors at the AA chose an automatic vehicle over a manual one.
What car? Consumer editor Claire Evans said: ‘Any enthusiast will tell you that for sheer driving pleasure, manual gearboxes always win. However, in many conventional models, manual gearboxes will soon be a thing of the past.
“The popularity of automatic gearboxes is partly due to manufacturing and engineering trends, as well as increased demand for electric cars, which do not require traditional gearboxes.
“And many young drivers clearly don’t see the need to learn to drive a manual, given that they are slowly being phased out.”