Auto on Turbo: Carmakers see a rise in sales of automatic, semi-automatic cars

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Arghya Sen, a senior finance professional with a leading tech firm, used to own a manual gearbox-equipped car for five years. While going for a new car, he opted for the semi-automatic variant of Venue SX (O) iMT for Rs. 16 lakh, even though it was Rs. 1.5 lakh pricier than the manual version of the same model.

For him, a semi-automatic trim was a calculated move as he was mindful of the travails of navigating Bengaluru roads. “It takes me up to 50 minutes to reach the office from home, and the clutch-free drive makes the daily commute less taxing. Above all, there is no compromise on mileage vis-à-vis the manual transmission variant, so this variant gives me the best bang for my buck,” Sen said.

A semi-automatic car does not have a clutch pedal (like an automatic), but it allows the  driver the option of being able to change gears using a lever or paddle shifters.

Similarly, Sanjeev Sharma, a Public Relations Officer at the Electronics and Information Technology department of Chhattisgarh government, had a Mahindra Bolero for many years. Given that he has to drive more than 100 kms from Raipur to his home town Jabalpur on a regular basis, he bought the Grand Vitara Zeta AT  for nearly Rs 17 lakh.

For Sharma, Getting an automatic instead of a manual transmission was about ease of driving. “In an automatic variant, the gears automatically change depending on the speed.  This is more convenient than a manual transmission.”

Thanks to car buyers like Sen and Sharma, the demand for automatic and semi-automatic (or non-manual) cars has been steadily rising over the years. As per data shared by JATO Dynamics, an automotive market research firm, the proportion of automatic variants in total passenger vehicle (PV) sales has gone up from 16.8 percent in 2020 to 28.3 percent in 23 (till date).

According to Ravi Bhatia, Managing Director, JATO Dynamics India, non-manual cars have become popular due to their ease of use, fuel efficiency, performance, and convenience.

“They are easier to use than manual transmissions and provide a smoother driving experience. Many modern non-manual transmissions are designed to be more fuel-efficient and offer better performance. They are a popular choice for urban driving,” stated Bhatia.

Carmakers bullish

Passenger vehicle market leader Maruti Suzuki, which launched its semi-automatic vehicle in 2014 with the Celerio AMT, has registered cumulative sales of 10.61 lakh automatic vehicles till date.

The company now offers some variant of automatic (or non-manual) transmission in 14 models — Alto K10, WagonR, Celerio, Swift, Ignis, S-Presso, Dzire, Baleno,  Ciaz, Ertiga, XL6, Brezza, Grand Vitara, and the newly-launched Fronx.

Its sales mix of manual vs non-manual cars was 90:10 in FY 2021-22, which changed to 88:12 during FY 2022-23.

“Fifteen percent of the Celerios and 7 percent of the WagonRs sold are automatic, while with the Ignis and S-Presso, 16 and 15 percent, respectively, are automatic. Even in the Alto K10, which is a very price-conscious segment, the automatic variant comprises about 9 percent of sales,” said Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

“Last year itself we sold 1,65,000 automatic units, and the number would be much higher this year. Traffic congestion, availability of low-cost, automatic,  small cars, as well as in SUVs and sedans, will lead to higher adoption of non-manual gearboxes by customers,” he added.

For Hyundai Motor India Limited, automatic variants comprise 25-30 percent of its total sales.

“Our customers are increasingly adopting newer technologies to increase their driving comfort, and this is reflected in the automatic variants of the i20 N-Line accounting for over 20 percent of overall sales of the car,” stated Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India.

Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) offers automatic variants of Honda City and Amaze. Kunal Behl, Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Honda India stated that there is now a strong preference for automatic variants of both these models, with more than 45 percent of Amaze customers and more than 65 percent of City customers opting for automatic variants.

Behl claims that automatic variants are preferred as they offer a comfortable driving experience in busy traffic.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars India revealed that its ratio of automatic vs manual car sales has moved from 40:60 earlier to 60:40 in favour of automatics.

“We expect to see this mix of automatic and manual variants continue,” stated Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Brand Director Ashish Gupta, in response to queries emailed by Moneycontrol.

As per the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA), automatic transmission vehicles comprised 15 percent of sales in 2019. This is likely to increase to 30 percent by the end of this year.  A senior FADA official said the figure may further rise to 45 percent by 2028.

Manish Raj Singhania, President, FADA, told Moneycontrol: “Over the last few quarters, sales executives at dealerships are enlightening customers about the benefits of non-manual variants. As a result, prospective buyers are making a switch and are ready to pay an additional sum for non-manual variants.”