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| Image: Kostiantyn Zavhorodnii via Pexels. |
Three out of four cars sold in Ireland in 2025 had automatic transmissions, writes Brian Byrne. This compares to 66 per cent in 2024.
With stricter emissions regulations favouring automatic transmissions, manual gearboxes are expected to become increasingly rare over the next five years.
The change has been accelerated by the rise in electric and hybrid vehicles, all of which have automatic transmissions.
The growth has been inexorable since the advent of dual-clutch automatic transmissions, which have generally proven more fuel-efficient than manual transmissions.
