Automakers are witnessing an uptick in automatic transmission (AT) car purchases due to the availability of transmission options that were once exclusive to luxury vehicles.
India’s largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki, saw a 20 per cent growth in AT vehicles, with the growth coming from metro cities.
“Maruti Suzuki has consistently adopted innovative technologies to provide a convenient and enjoyable driving experience. In FY24, automatic car sales increased by approx 20 per cent compared to the previous fiscal year. Automatic transmission vehicles made up around 11 per cent of total sales during this period. Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi & NCR, and Haryana were the key contributing markets. Additionally, automatic variants of the Ignis, Baleno, Fronx, Celerio, and Grand Vitara account for approx. 25 per cent, 17 per cent, 22 per cent, 20 per cent, and 19 per cent of their respective sales,” said Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited to businessline.
While the availability of AT options in cars below ₹10 lakh has helped sales, ease of driving in congested cities has also contributed.
“We are witnessing a steady increase in demand for vehicles with automatic transmissions. In response to customer behaviour and demand, we offer automatic transmission options across our entire portfolio and fuel types – including AMT, DCA, and Torque Converters. These options accounted for 22 per cent of our total sales in FY24. We anticipate this growth trend to continue, driven by factors such as ease of drivability in heavy traffic, increased convenience compared to manual transmissions, and the availability of transmission options that were once exclusive to luxury vehicles,” said Tata Motors Limited Spokesperson.
Industry experts expect the share of manual transmission in cars to drop to 55-60 per cent by fiscal 2028, while automatic transmission’s share is projected to increase from 20-25 per cent now to 40-45 per cent over the next 3-4 years.
“The increase in penetration of automatic transmission (AT) cars has been witnessed after coronavirus. Pre-coronavirus, the penetration was only up to 13 per cent. The feedback during our discussions with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) has shown positive growth, with a penetration of nearly 25 per cent. It is further expected to improve,” said Srikumar Krishnamurthy, Senior Vice President and Co-Group Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited.