Is Automatic the New Normal in The UK?

This question will surely come to your mind if you are a keen observer of the Auto market in the UK. The ‘preferential treatment’ being given by car buyers in the UK indicates a definite shift towards automatic.

Here is an important statistic to start with. In Britain, the production and distribution of automatic vehicles are rising every year. It is estimated that 8.4 million automatic cars hit the road in the year 2017, which was a whopping 40% of all new cars that year. As on today as well, you would notice long waiting lists for automatic Driving lessons Oxford and there are ample reasons for this increasing demand.

The DVSA driving test data also bears testimony of the increasing popularity of automatic cars. In the year 2019-20, 10.9% of all the passed driving tests in the UK belonged to the automatic category. This figure read 9.4% in 2018-19, 8.0% in 2017-18, 6.9% in 2016-17 and only 6.3% in 2015-16.  From this, we can conclude that learner drivers are making the ‘switch’ from manual to automatic cars. This also indicates an upward trend in the popularity of automatic cars during the period 2015-2020.

Is ‘automatic’ set to surpass ‘manual’ as the vehicle to prefer in future?

Well, early indications say just that! DVSA data says that only 45,000 of the 723,000 driving test passes in the UK belonged to the automatic category in the year 2015. However, by 2020, this figure rose to almost 80,000 (out of a total of 734,000 passes). Thus, it showed a compound growth of 12% during that period. In contrast, the compound growth rate for manual cars during the same period stood at -0.7 %.

Based on the above statistics, we can safely predict that automatic cars may surpass manuals as the vehicle to prefer for learner drivers by 2038.

Why Are People Preferring Automatic?

Going ’automatic‘offers manifold benefits.

Ø  An automatic car has the ability to change gears on its own, without any ‘manual effort’ from the driver.  This makes learning automatic driving way easier than manual driving. You don’t need to learn the troublesome part of driving, that is, how to change the gears while using the clutch precisely.

Ø  Imagine how 'smooth' it would be if you do not have to worry about changing gears and using clutch when you are amidst heavy traffic! If you need to commute through high-traffic areas every day, 'automatic' is surely the best option!

Ø  Any manual driver would tell you! Steep hills can be scary, particularly when you start from a halt. But, an automatic car will take this ‘trouble’ by itself!

Ø  Stalling of the vehicle is such a curse for manual drivers! However, with automatic driving, you won’t find this nemesis.

Considering the benefits listed above, many people have acknowledged that ‘automatic’ is indeed the future of driving. But, is it easy to find a quality Automatic driving school?  Well, you guessed it right. Automatic driving is still a grey area for many and there are still fewer automatic instructors available than manual instructors.

 We are likely to see automatic vehicles play an increasingly crucial role in teaching learners to drive. More and more Automatic driving school are going to ‘pop up’ everywhere. But, here is a tip for you! If you intend to buy an automatic car and want to take Driving lessons Oxford, you just can’t catch hold of the first driving school that comes across. Do your own research, look for recommendations and get the best Automatic Driving school that suits your unique needs.