Number of drivers with automatic-only licences doubles in a decade

An increasing number of new drivers are turning their backs on manual transmission cars, and records show that there are twice as many drivers on the road with an automatic driver’s license compared to 10 years ago.

In 2012, there were only 550,000 drivers with an automatic driving licence. In 2022 there will be 1.1 million, with the biggest annual increase in the last 12 months with an 11 percent year-on-year increase in motorists in Britain.

While purists will argue that these folks lack the ability to change gears, the decision to opt for automatic licensing makes sense.

Automatic transmission cars are now as popular as manual transmission cars, and the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will accelerate this trend when motorists can only buy electric vehicles from showrooms from 2030.

In total there are currently an estimated 41 million licensees in the UK.

This means that automatic-only license holders make up just 2.7 percent of all qualified drivers on the road, according to a new analysis of DVLA records conducted by auto repair and service website BookMyGarage.com.

It says there were only 37 million licensees in 2012, of which only 1.5 percent were qualified to drive an automatic car alone.

The steady increase in the number of students willing to turn their backs on manual transmissions is the result of the recent market shift towards automatic models, with sales exceeding manual transmissions for the first time in September 2020.

This will only accelerate as we get closer to 2030 and the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – which is why choosing an automatic-only driver’s license may not be the worst decision for learners.

Now that almost all electric vehicles on the market are equipped with single-speed transmissions, this will spell the end of drivers who change gears themselves in the coming decades and eventually make having a manual license obsolete.

This year, sales of electric vehicles in the UK are already up 48.8 percent so far, with a further 45,078 electric vehicles, according to data from the SMMT.

According to experts, this is making students consider car driving tests more than ever before.

About three in five 17- to 24-year-olds plan to get an automatic driver’s license instead of a manual one, according to a recent survey by road safety organization IAM Roadsmart.

Data shows that a total of 13.8 percent of all driving tests in 2021 were only automatic assessments – a 10 percent increase from 2008 as more new drivers move away from manual ‘boxes’.

More than half of people who have passed only automatic tests are under the age of 35.

It has even been predicted that the last person to pass their driving test in a manual transmission car will be born within five years, according to Direct Line Motor Insurance.

Last year saw an 11% increase in the number of car-only licensees on the road – the biggest year-over-year jump ever

The shift to automatic-only driving licenses is expected to increase as more drivers want to learn to drive electric. Earlier this year, AA Driving School announced it had added 100 EVs to its lineup due to rising demand

This shift to electric cars has already been noted by many of the major driving schools, which have already announced plans to electrify their fleet of student cars.

For example, AA Driving School announced earlier this year that it had added more than 100 electric cars to its fleet of instructor vehicles to offer EV-specific lessons to students, with demand – especially in cities – growing.

As a result, fewer new drivers will ultimately be legally qualified to select gears themselves.

Jessica Potts, head of marketing at BookMyGarage, said: “The increase in automatic-only driver licenses over the past decade is no surprise when you consider the general shift towards electric vehicles and hybrids, as well as the shift towards petrol and diesel cars that are equipped with automatic gearboxes.

“Some people may find the demise of the manual transmission a bit of a shame, but technology has progressed enormously and now most automatics provide better fuel economy and better driving comfort.”