Non-premium everyday cars with manual gearboxes

[Ecosseven]

Evening all,

It's pretty clear that fewer and fewer cars are being offered with a manual gearbox. I'm not talking about premium or specialist cars sold by companies like Caterham, Porsche, Lotus, etc. I was thinking more about your everyday family hatchbacks, crossovers, saloons from non-premium manufacturers. I don't think Honda build anything other that the Type R and Toyota only offer the GR Yaris.

So question to the PH masses............. How long do you think manual gearboxes will continue to be offered on everyday cars in the UK before they die out completely? My guess is probably no more than 5-7 years.

[Hub]

Probably sooner than that. It is already effectively a poverty spec option, and the move to EVs will drive the death of the manual.

[raspy]

I don't think they will die out completely, but demand will definitely continue to drop given that as each year passes, the proportion of learner drivers taking their driving test in an automatic car keeps going up.

2012/13 6% of all tests were in an automatic
2024/25 26% of all tests were in an automatic

For 2025/26, it's predicted to be 29% of all tests will be in an automatic

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80gk97xe85o