Analysis of transmission data by Solera cap hpi shows automatics now make up almost a third of the UK’s total car park, with numbers increasing 118% in a decade.
Between 2014 and 2024, the volume of automatic cars increased by 13% from 16.3% of the park to 29.3% by the end of last year.
In 2014, there were 7.1 million automatic cars on UK roads. A decade later, this figure has more than doubled to over 15.5 million, an increase of 8.4 million vehicles. Over the same period, the number of manual cars increased by 2.4 per cent, from 36.6 million to 37.5 million. The volume of automatics has increased exponentially year on year since 2014, with manual volumes falling for the past five years.
The data also shows that motorists have shifted to automatics faster as time has passed, trebling the 400,000 new vehicles on UK roads in 2014 to 1.3 million ten years later.
Registration data reveals that the number of automatics almost tripled, from 538k new registrations in 2014 to over 1.5 million in 2024. In the same period, the number of manual vehicles registered dropped from 708k to 274k in 2024. 2020 was the last year that manual cars increased their volume in the UK car parc, with 23K registrations.
Manufacturers that have increased their volumes of automatic registrations include Kia, which accounts for 5.1% of all automatic registrations, Land Rover, with 4%, and MG, with 3.9%.
Stacey Ward, senior data director at cap hpi, comments: “Changing driving habits, especially in congested urban areas, have made automatics more appealing to drivers for their ease of use in stop-start traffic. Advances in technology over the past decade have also greatly improved automatic transmissions’ efficiency and responsiveness.
“The rise in popularity of EVs, which are always automatic, has significantly contributed to the increasing shift towards automatics over manual. Manufacturers have responded by reducing manual gearbox options, with some major brands eliminating them entirely from their lineups. Additionally, more new drivers are opting for automatic-only driving licenses. In 2012, there were just 550,000 drivers with automatic licences. In 2022, there were over 1.1 million, with this figure expected to continue to increase. Estimates suggest that by next year, a quarter of learners will qualify with a licence limited to automatic cars only.”
—
About cap hpi
cap hpi provides decision support data and software solutions spanning vehicle valuation, validation, collision, mechanical repair, and total cost of ownership. cap hpi helps users make smarter automotive decisions by providing one source for data and software solutions that uniquely span the whole vehicle lifecycle; new, used and future vehicle valuation, validation, collision, mechanical repair and total cost of ownership.
All data is uniquely connected by the cap hpi code and a single methodology across all markets and sectors.
cap hpi puts technology at the centre of all data activities, from collection and processing to delivery and the development of new applications. It operates from an international hub in the UK; that ensures its systems, coding, data collection processes, and valuation methodologies are consistent, scalable, repeatable, and of the highest quality for every country. Valuations and forecast data are managed by local industry experts to ensure insight is added to each data set to enhance accuracy.
cap hpi operates as part of Solera Holdings, Inc.
About Solera:
Solera is the global leader in vehicle lifecycle management software-as-a-service, data, and services. Through four lines of business – vehicle claims, vehicle repairs, vehicle solutions, and fleet solutions – Solera is home to many leading brands in the vehicle lifecycle ecosystem, including Identifix, Audatex, DealerSocket, Omnitracs, LoJack, Spireon, eDriving/Mentor, Explore, cap hpi, Autodata, and others. Solera empowers its customers to succeed in the digital age by providing them with a “one-stop shop” solution that streamlines operations, offers data-driven analytics, and enhances customer engagement, which Solera believes helps customers drive sales, promote customer retention, and improve profit margins. Solera serves over 280,000 global customers and partners in 120+ countries.