Striking, but …
Striking News: Cars powered by a Combustion Engine are more Often equipped with a Manual Gearbox in the Netherlands Again.
Of all cars Sold in the Netherlands with (Only) A Gasoline, Diesel, OR LPG Engine on Board, 73 percent Were Equipped with a Manual Gearbox in the first half of 2025. That was 62 percent in 2019, According to Bovag, so you MASTIUT THATTIUT GARBOUT GLAVOUDULOUS GARBTIUT GARBTUTULOUT THATMTULOUT THATMTULUT THATMTULOUT THATMTULOUT THATMTUTULOUT GARBTIUT THINIBTULUTULUTULOUBTULUT. However, we must put a stop to that, because there are significant caveats. For Example, The Share of Cars with Purely A Combustion Engine on Board Has Decreased Significantly, and the Automatic Transmission was of Course Supreme in (Partly) Electric Vehicles. As a result, the automatic transmission is still gaining ground in the Netherlands, with a share in new sales that now even amounts to 76 percent. In 2024, that was still 70 percent, in 2019 46.
Bovag also concludes, entirely as expected, that manual Gearboxes are mainly found in Cheaper Models. For Example, in 2024 Almost All New Cars Between 15,000 and 20,000 euros Were Still Equipped with a Manual Gearbox, While Above 30,000 euros 90 percent had an automatic transmission. Anyone who knows that cars like the kia picanto, toyota aygo x and, to a lesser extent, varousy dacias do very well in the Netherlands, understands where that increase in the manual Gearbox Share Comes from.
Current Car Fleet
Bovag also looked at the manual/automatic ratio in the entire Dutch car fleet, so all cars driving around in our little country. At the End of 2014, The Manual Gearbox was still by far the most common transmission in our country with 84 percent, but now ‘only’ 65 percent of the cars in our country are equipped with a manual gearbox. If we also remove all electrified cars from the figures here, it appears that 25 percent of the cars with a combustion engine now have an automatic transmission. In 2014 that was still 16 percent.