Availability of new car models with a manual gearbox down by 57% since 2015

The number of new cars available to UK motorists with a manual gearbox is at its lowest in 10 years, marking a 57% decline from 2015.

New research from CarGurus — a leading automotive marketplace in the U.K. to shop, buy, and sell used vehicles — has revealed that in 2025 there are just 82 new models available with a manual transmission across the UK’s most popular manufacturersⁱ, compared to 192 in 2015.

Compared to 2024, available options decreased by 8%, from 89, and are down 25% from 2023 when there were 109 models to choose from.

CarGurus also analysed the number of automatic-only models from the top 30 manufacturers, of which there are 196. As such, models available with a manual transmission make up just 29% of options from the country’s top-selling automakers.

The number of manufacturers that do not offer manual transmissions across their model range has also increased year-over-year, from five in 2024 compared to six in 2025. Land Rover and MINI shifted in 2025 after having just one model each with a manual in 2024. Manufacturers that do not provide an option for manual gearboxes in their new models include: Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Volvo, Tesla, MINI and Lexus. Jaguar did not have applicable models for this year’s study due to its decision to pause the sale of new cars until its planned 2026 relaunch; however, the brand did not include manual options in 2024 and has announced the intent to go all-electric.

These figures mark a stark contrast to just a decade ago, when manual gearboxes were a common feature.

Research conducted in 2024 by CarGurus on driver preferences for analogue vs. technological features in cars found that only 28% of the 2,000 people surveyed would miss manual gearboxes and 28% would miss clutch pedals. When comparing age groups, those over 65 were most likely to miss manual gearboxes (35%), compared to 26% of 18- to 24-year-olds, and 22% of those aged 25 to 34. These findings underline the decreasing demand for manual transmissions, leading to less customer choice in the new-car market.

At the current rate of decline, CarGurus predicts that there will likely be no manual gearbox offerings available on new models by 2037 (based on a rate of 7 models a year, the decrease from 2024 to 2025).

Further to this expectation is the fact that many new entrants to the U.K. auto market exclusively produce cars with automatic gearboxes. Emerging brands, such as Polestar, BYD, and Leapmotor, have not yet made the list of the nation’s top manufacturers analysed in this study but are steadily taking on greater market share.

Chris Knapman, CarGurus U.K. Editorial Director, said: “With an increasing number of new cars being fully electric, and the market’s general push to larger and more premium vehicles, it is no great surprise to see the decline of the manual gearbox continuing in the 12 months since we last conducted this study. Increasingly, an automatic gearbox is no longer a luxury that buyers must pay extra for, but an expected standard feature.

“There is some good news for those who do still value the additional layer of interaction that comes with a manual gearbox, however. Drivers can still buy a new car with a truly great gear-change like the Honda Civic Type R and Mazda MX-5. Or, of course, they can look to the used market, where manuals are in plentiful supply.”

On the CarGurus platform, there are a host of used examples of manual options. In an analysis of current listings available to shoppers, 47% are manual and 53% are automatic.

For motorists who still prefer a manual transmission, CarGurus has published a guide to the best manual cars in 2025.