Learner drivers shift to automatics for EV future

Driving instructor Mike Nunn says there has been a shift in vehicle preference

Driving instructors say more people are choosing to learn in automatic vehicles to prepare for a ban on the sale of petrol or diesel cars in the next five years.

The government previously announced no new petrol or diesel cars would be sold after 2030 in a bid to support zero emission vehicles.

The AA predicted more than a quarter of driving tests would take place in automatic vehicles by 2026.

Mike Nunn, 52 who teaches in an automatic car in Lincoln, said his students "know the shift is going on, know the changes are happening and it will only pick up in pace".

Mr Nunn says he has seen an increase in people choosing lessons in automatic cars

To obtain a full UK licence, a driver must pass their test in a car with manual gears.

If the test is taken in an automatic car, the driver would get a Category B Auto licence, restricting them to driving to vehicles with automatic transmission only.

However, Kev Lynes, 48, who teaches in Lincoln and Sleaford using an electric automatic car, said he believed it could reach a point where the different licences were phased out.

"There's certainly a big chunk of people who just look at the future and think it's not going to be that long," he said.

"I've had conversations with people who've said they've gone to the forecourts to look for a car and they're all automatic. They're all either hybrids, electric or automatics."

Mr Nunn said he had felt like "the odd one out" when he began to teach in automatic cars more than six years ago.

"Now, there's definitely more instructors with automatic cars compared to when I started," he said.

Mr Nunn said students were aware of the future of driving and were choosing lessons in automatics due to the shift towards electric vehicles which often have automatic transmissions.

"For many people, it's like this is the way things are going. Everything is going automatic. All the hybrids are automatic."

The AA says fewer people are choosing to take their tests in vehicles with manual gears

According to the AA, almost 17% of people who passed their driving test in 2022/23 did so in an automatic vehicle.

The organisation estimated the figure would reach 26% by 2025/26.

Mark Born, head of the driving instructor training academy at the AA, said more of its instructors wanted to teach in automatics and attitudes had changed.

He said: "People are starting to think a little bit more about the future and think actually do I really need a manual licence?"

Mr Born said it could become harder to learn in manual cars, "simply because driving instructors like new cars and will be switching over."

"We're seeing a shift in the learning landscape," he said.

"The percentages are certainly increasing and I think that will continue over the next four to five years."

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