The growing emphasis on the installation of automatic safety assistants can be one of the many nails in the coffin of manual transmissions.
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Fans of manual shifting have not had an easy time lately. Whereas in the past the bet on manual transmission meant better fuel consumption and often more impressive car dynamics, today automatic transmissions are usually slightly ahead in both industries. And this was reflected both in the preferences of customers and in the offer of cars.
Many manufacturers still keep manual transmissions in their models, but the question is how long they will last. Increasing emphasis on electrification, especially the development of classic / plug-in hybrids and electric cars, is also not very attractive to manual transmissions, because they do not have much use here. So at least without other significant investments.
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But, as Automotive News Canada pointed out, the growing emphasis on installing sophisticated autonomous safety assistants could send manual transmissions to the museum even faster. For example, the AEB system – ie autonomous emergency braking – is much easier and cheaper to pair with automatic transmissions than manual transmissions.
Automotive News Canada cites the Subaru brand and its Canadian representation as examples. While Subaru no longer offers manual transmissions on the Czech market, it still has several models with a manual on offer in Canada. However, their equipment lacks the sophisticated Eyesight safety system, which Subaru otherwise likes and often brags about.
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According to the carmaker, the reason is that their cars with a manual transmission do not have an electronic parking brake, which the AEB system uses when activating it. Although the AEB system can also be paired with a manual transmission and a classic handbrake, according to Subaru, this is economically disadvantageous.
A spokesman for the Canadian representation in an interview with Automotive News Canada added that the local representation wants to keep manual transmissions on offer for as long as possible, but with the mandatory introduction of AEB systems, it will have to look at the whole thing again. In Europe, however, the mandatory AEB system for new models was introduced last year. And from next year it will be mandatory for all cars sold.
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With the gradually declining interest in manual transmissions, the increasing complexity of their pairing with safety systems and the growing emphasis on car electrification, it seems that manual transmissions do not have a very long future. That is, at least under the hood of mass models, while in the market of sports cars for a specific segment of those interested in a purist experience of shifting, perhaps a higher price for further development around manual transmissions will be reduced or defended.
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