• 53% of used car dealers say that they always buy automatics over manuals where there is a choice
• 57% believe an increasing number of customers will only buy automatics
• 85% think manuals will almost disappear from the used car market in the next few years, says September’s Startline Used Car Tracker

September’s Startline Used Car Tracker reports 57% believe an increasing number of customers will only buy automatics and 43% want to meet the needs of younger drivers who have automatic-only licences.

Also, 43% point out automatics are more popular with certain groups of car buyers, such as high mileage and elderly drivers, and 25% think only specific types of cars, such as sports models, are more popular as manuals.

Overall, 85% see manual cars almost disappearing from the used car market in the next few years and 5% already rarely buy manual cars into stock.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Automatics have come to dominate the new car market in recent years and it is therefore inevitable that the used sector follows suit. Our research shows how dealers are responding to this shift.

“You don’t have to look too far back to find a point in time when used car buyers perceived automatics as dramatically poorer on fuel economy and more prone to breakdown. That moment has very clearly passed.

“In response, dealers appear to be increasingly favouring automatics and with the ongoing electrification of both the new and used car markets, it could be that manual gearboxes become a rarity quite soon.”

Compiled monthly by APD Global Research – well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs – the Startline Used Car Tracker this month questioned 300 consumers and 60 dealers.