Manual transmissions nearing extinction in Sweden as sales plummet

The manual transmission is nearing extinction in the Swedish automotive market, with new car sales dropping to a mere 2% in the first half of 2026. A decade ago, nearly 40% of new cars sold in Sweden featured a manual gearbox, but this figure has drastically declined.

The primary catalyst for this shift is the rise of electric vehicles. Pure electric cars and hybrids, which are increasingly dominating new registrations in Sweden, do not come equipped with manual transmissions. Industry organization Mobility Sweden's CEO, Jessica Alenius, predicts that manual cars will gradually disappear as electrification accelerates.

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Cars with manual gearboxes will gradually disappear as electrification takes over.

On the used car market, manual vehicles are still available, but a historical turning point occurred last summer when the total number of automatic cars surpassed manual ones on Swedish roads. Daniel Odsberg, sales manager at the marketplace Kvdbil, notes that 70% of cars sold through their platform in the first half of this year had automatic transmissions. He adds that while older models with manual gearboxes are still sold, price differences are negligible, with mileage, age, and service history being more significant factors.

For new drivers, the trend is also shifting, with a steady increase in those obtaining automatic-only driver's licenses. In 2013, only 4% opted for an automatic license, but by the first half of 2026, the distribution between automatic and manual licenses was nearly 50/50. This reflects the changing landscape of automotive technology and consumer preference.

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Under the first half of this year, 70 percent of the cars sold with us had an automatic gearbox.