Stop clutching to the past - the end of the gear stick era is near, says AA

For many teenagers, it feels like the first taste of true adulthood: sinking the clutch to the floor, coaxing the gear stick into first and lurching into motion.

- Amelia Hill

But soon, such a milestone could seem as archaic as travelling by horse and cart.

At least half of AA and BSM driving instructors will teach only in automatic cars within the next decade, internal data suggests.

In January 2022, 86% of instructors working with the two driving schools taught in manual vehicles.

By early 2025, that figure had dropped to 75.3%. If that rate of change continues, manual driving instructors could soon become, in the words of industry insiders, a “niche business”.