The trend of manual cars being phased out looks to be well into its stride, with only 67 new models with a manual gearbox now available on the new car market – a fall of 18% in the past year, following an 8% reduction is 2024.
Research conducted by data analysts at CarGurus UK looked into the number of new car models with a manual gearbox on sale from 30 of the UK’s most popular car brands over each of the past 12 years. During the first five years (2014-2018), the number of new cars available to buy with manual transmissions varied by just 4%, and actually increased slightly between 2014 and 2016 as brands expanded their model lineups. However, from 2018 onwards the market for manual cars has been in a state of year-over-year decline.
Are Manual Cars Being Phased Out?
- Why Manual Gearboxes are in Decline
- Automatic Gearboxes are Better than Ever
- What Manual Cars Can You Still Buy Today
- What Manual Cars Can’t You Buy?
- The Impact of Electric Cars
- Auto-only Driving Tests Increasing
- Are Cars with Automatic Gearboxes More Expensive?
- Should I Buy a Manual or Automatic Car
- What are the Different Types of Automatic Gearbox?
- What’s the Best Manual Gearbox?
Why Manual Gearboxes are in Decline
While a few once-popular manual cars have gone out of production in recent years (most notably the Ford Fiesta), the overall trend within the market has been for manufacturers to expand their model lineups. Indeed, our own research showed that there's no shortage of new models to choose from: from our 30 brands, a total of 294 models were analysed. It's just that, of those, 225 of them are available exclusively with an automatic gearbox. That number is up from 197 in 2025.
Our research also found that eight of our brands now exclusively sell automatic vehicles, up from six in 2025 and five in 2024.
So, what precisely is it that's causing the decline in the availability of new cars with a manual gearbox?
The answer can be traced to a number of (frequently overlapping) trends, including but not limited to:
- The rise of the SUV, which are often fitted with automatic gearboxes.
- Increasing adoption of premium brands, which again tend to skew towards automatic gearboxes. For example, at the time of writing, a search for 2021-2023 examples of the BMW 3 Series for sale on CarGurus UK shows that more than 700 are available with an automatic gearbox, while only 1 was a manual. The same search for a 2021-2023 Ford Focus shows 282 with an automatic gearbox, and 622 manuals.
- The decline of diesel as a top choice for company car drivers in favour of hybrids, which tend to come with an automatic gearbox as standard.
- Growing sales of electric vehicles, which either use a form of automatic gearbox or no gearbox or at all.
Behind all of these trends, to one extent or another, has been the growing use of car finance as a way to fuel new and used car sales, with initiatives such as PCP (Personal Contract Purchase) allowing consumers to pay off a car’s depreciation rather than its full value, resulting in a much smaller loan amount, and thus access to cars that might not have otherwise fallen within a consumer's budget.
Automatic Gearboxes are Better than Ever
That automatic gearboxes are now the preferred choice for many drivers isn’t only because they are more accessible financially. Improvements in technology also mean they are much better to use. Consider this: in 2010, if you wanted an automatic Vauxhall Astra you would opt for the 1.6-litre, 113bhp petrol engine paired with a six-speed gearbox. Not only was the gearbox itself sluggish in its operation, contributing to a 0-62mph of 12.5 seconds, but it also used more fuel with an average of 40mpg in official tests. Opt for exactly the same engine with a manual gearbox and you'd dash from 0-62mph in 10.9 seconds, and average 45mpg in the same test cycle. As the final kick in the teeth, the drop in fuel economy and corresponding increase in CO2 emissions meant the automatic also cost more to tax.
Fast forward to 2026, and an automatic Vauxhall Astra with a turbocharged 1.2-litre (128bhp) petrol engine with its eight-speed gearbox can swap gears just as quickly as the slickest of drivers using a manual gearbox, and often more so. As such, there’s no price to pay in terms of performance (both the manual and the automatic clock 0-62mph acceleration in 9.7 seconds), fuel economy (50.4mpg for both the manual and the auto) or CO2 emissions (127g/km auto vs 126g/km manual) for those who don’t want to drive a manual.
| Specification | 2010 Astra (Manual) | 2010 Astra (Automatic) | 2026 Astra (Manual) | 2026 Astra (Automatic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine Options | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Power Output (bhp) | 113 | 113 | 128 | 128 |
| Acceleration (0-62 mph) | 10.9 seconds | 12.5 seconds | 9.7 seconds | 9.7 seconds |
| Fuel Economy (mpg) | 45 | 40 | 50 | 50 |
What Manual Cars Can You Still Buy Today
As we have observed, if you’re shopping for a new car and require – or simply prefer – a manual gearbox, the choices are not as extensive as was once the case. However, to make it easy, the list below contains every new car on sale that's offered with a manual gearbox, broken down by brand. And if you need further guidance, don’t miss our guide: The Best Cars with a Manual Gearbox.
Volkswagen: Golf, Polo, Taigo, T-Cross, Transporter
Ford: Kuga, Mustang, Puma, Ranger, Tourneo Courier, Tourneo Custom
Audi: A1, A3, Q2
BMW: M2
Toyota: GR Yaris, Hilux
Kia: Ceed, Picanto, Sportage, Xceed
Vauxhall: Astra, Corsa, Mokka
Nissan: Juke, Qashqai
Mercedes-Benz: -
Hyundai Bayon, i10, i20, Kona, Tucson
MG: MG3, HS, ZS
Skoda: Fabia, Kamiq, Karoq, Octavia, Scala
Peugeot: 2008, 208
Land Rover: -
Volvo: -
Tesla: -
MINI: -
Renault: Clio, Captur
Seat: Arona, Ibiza, Leon, Ateca
Citroen: Berlingo, C3, C3 Aircross
Mazda: CX-30, CX-5, MX-5, Mazda3
Dacia: Duster, Jogger, Sandero Stepway, Sandero, Bigster
Suzuki: S-Cross, Swift, Vitara
Cupra: Formentor, Leon
Honda: -
Porsche: 911
Fiat: 500, 500C
Lexus: -
Jaguar: -
Jeep: Avenger
Research based on CarGurus listing data and manufacturer website information at time of analysis. Tesla not included in analysis due to EV-only offerings.
What Manual Cars Can’t You Buy?
Walk into a Mercedes, Volvo or Lexus dealership today and the only cars you’ll find with a manual gearbox will be on the used forecourt. You won’t be much better off visiting Honda, MINI, or Land Rover, because these brands are in the same boat. There are other brand that only have a single manual offering within their model ranges, such as BMW and Jeep.
Some of the decline comes from cars that have gone off sale completely in recent years, such as the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Up and Kia Ceed. However, there are also plenty of models that were once available with a manual gearbox that are now auto-only. Examples include combustion-engined versions of the BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Volkswagen T-Roc and Nissan X-Trail.
The Impact of Electric Cars
While consumer uptake of all-electric vehicles (and plug-in hybrids for that matter) might not be happening at breakneck speed, that has nothing to do with the number of electric vehicles pouring on to the market. Fuelled by the rise of Tesla and the upcoming legislation to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030, many automakers have been at full throttle developing their EV line-ups, often cutting budgets from their traditional models in order to do so. As just one of many, many examples, witness how BMW no longer builds a diesel version of its 5 Series, yet does have a version powered by electric motors, called the i5.
One of the knock-on impacts of this shift is that EVs do not require a gearbox in the same way as a petrol or a diesel engine would, and so the decline of the manual gearbox has accelerated.
Auto-only Driving Tests Increasing
Whether it’s cause or effect isn’t clear, but the number of new drivers taking the automatic-only version of the UK driving test has increased dramatically over the past decade or so.
Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) show that during the 2012/2013 period, there were 87,844 automatic-only driving tests conducted. The same stat for 2022/2023 reveals 324,064 automatic-only tests were taken, an increase of 269%.
This means that more first-time drivers than ever before won’t even consider a car with a manual gearbox.
Are Cars with Automatic Gearboxes More Expensive?
Clearly, if a new car is available only with an automatic gearbox (as is increasingly the case) then there’s no way of knowing how much it might cost as a manual.
However, as a general rule, where both manual and automatic gearboxes are offered, the auto' will carry a premium of around £1,500 to £2,000 on a trim-for-trim basis. For example, in the case of the Vauxhall Astra we used in our earlier example, the uplift for an automatic is £1,600.
Should I Buy a Manual or Automatic Car?
Whether to opt for a manual or an automatic gearbox for your next car will depend on your needs. For example, if you have an automatic-only licence then the decision is made for you. Similarly, if you want an electric car then it’s going to be an automatic - or at least, operate like one - whether you like it or not.
However, for those who are sitting on the fence, what might be the factors that would sway you one way or the other? As outlined in the section above, the primary consideration might very well be cost, because in the vast majority of cases a car with a manual gearbox is going to cost less to buy than one with an automatic.
Beyond cost, some drivers simply prefer the act of changing gears manually, whether it’s for the tactile interaction of doing so, or because it allows for a greater degree of car control. For these people, even the very best automatic gearboxes are unlikely to provide the same satisfaction as a manual.
For those who are undecided, however, or in cases where a promotion or finance deal might make an automatic the same price as a manual, it is likely that improvements in the performance of automatic cars (and that covers smoothness, responsiveness, fuel economy, et al) is going to make it the preferred choice.
What are the Different Types of Automatic Gearbox?
Automatic gearboxes are not all the same, and the type you choose will have an impact on the way the car drives. Below, we’ve given brief overview of the main types of automatic transmissions. For more details, see our full guide to the different types of automatic gearbox.
- Torque converter automatic: Very common, uses hydraulic fluid rather than a clutch to send drive through the gearbox from the engine to the wheels. Brands using torque convertor gearboxes include BMW, Jaguar, and Stellantis (the parent company of brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo and Citroen among others).
- Dual-clutch automatic: Pioneered by Porsche’s motorsport department, and launched into the mainstream car market by Audi and Volkswagen, the dual-clutch system uses two clutches rather than one so that the next gear is always primed, allowing for faster shift times and improved fuel economy compared with a torque converter.
- CVT automatic: CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. CVTs use one variable ratio rather than a set of fixed ratios, which can lead to excellent efficiency. However, not all drivers enjoy the characteristic engine drone caused by CVTs under hard acceleration. Toyota’s hybrid models, including the Corolla and C-HR, use CVT gearboxes.
- Automated manual: Automated manuals feature all the same components as a manual gearbox, with the difference being that the clutch is operated automatically, rather than the driver needing to do it. Liked for their simplicity, robotised manuals can however feel either very abrupt or rather slow to react. Expect to see robotised manuals on modern classic Ferraris such as the F355 and F360, or not-so-modern-classic city cars such as the Volkswagen Up and Toyota Aygo.
What’s the Best Manual Gearbox?
A great manual gearbox is not one that’s simply easy to use. It should also offer satisfaction with every gear change, with a slick yet mechanical feel, and weighting that is perfectly matched to the clutch pedal. Clearly, a lot of classic and modern classic cars will be manual, and there are plenty of excellent options to choose from, be it the open-gated click-clack lever of a Ferrari, to the wrist-flick shift of a Peugeot 205 GTi.
However, for a truly great manual gearbox you need to move to more recent models. As far as used cars go we’d put in strong recommendations for the stubby-levered six-speed manual in the Honda S2000 and the rifle-bolt-precise stick shift from the 997-generation Porsche 911 GT3. On the new car market, meanwhile, the current Mazda MX-5 sports car takes some beating.