New data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) reveals a dramatic shift towards automatic vehicles and away from manual cars in Ireland.

Manual car sales have plummeted by 50.7% over the past decade, while automatic vehicle sales have surged by 509.8%.

Between 2014 and 2024, automatic car sales increased by 66,969 units, while manual sales fell sharply from 86.4% of the market to just 33.8%.

The tipping point came in 2022, when automatic sales overtook manual for the first time, with momentum continuing into 2023, which saw the largest single-year increase of 18,735 additional automatic vehicles sold.

According to car marketplace platform CarsIreland.ie, this shift reflects broader trends in consumer behaviour, with drivers prioritising ease, comfort, and the technological advancements of modern automatic vehicles.

It is also worth noting that the rise of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), which predominantly feature automatic transmissions, has accelerated the decline of manual gearboxes.

Sinead McCann, spokesperson for CarsIreland.ie, said: “Consumers are increasingly opting for convenience, and with the growth of hybrid and electric vehicles, the days of manual cars dominating the market are coming to an end.”

Ross Smith, the ‘Virtual Driving Instructor’ also noted, “We’ve seen a huge shift in learner preferences - when I started this career, automatic lesson requests were few and far between.

“Now, more students are choosing to learn in automatic cars, not only for ease but because they recognise this is where the industry is heading.”

“Learners now say that there's no such thing as a manual electric or hybrid car, so why would they bother?”, he continued.

“The industry-wide change to EVs has caused a massive culture switch in how people view automatics.”