In the Netherlands almost nobody takes a driving test in an automatic car

“Automatic driver’s license popular”, headlined RTL News in September last year. It should have been “more popular” because of the total number of people who take their driver’s test for the first time, only a tiny minority do so in an automatic car.

Not many new cars with manual transmissions are sold anymore. One of the reasons for this is that many of them are equipped with an electrified powertrain. Electric models don’t even have a gearbox.

Driving test in an automatic for the code 78 driver’s license

Nevertheless, the number of people who complete their driving test at the machine is still remarkably low. Anyone driving an electric vehicle or a car with an automatic transmission receives a so-called Code 78 driver’s license and is therefore not allowed to drive with a manual transmission.

Of the approximately 190,000 Dutch people who took their first driving test for the B driving licence, only 4.1 percent did so at a machine. Six years ago, this share was 1.18 percent.

Average age of automatic driving license ten years higher

Remarkable. Figures from the CBR show that novice drivers who opt for an automatic driver’s license are, on average, ten years older. Although this age is steadily decreasing.

The manual transmission is far from gone

Why should you still learn how to change gears? Someone even asked this question in the ranks of Autovisie. The answer to the question is logical. The manual transmission is far from disappearing from the streets. There will be used cars with manual transmissions for decades to come.

Most new cars are sold with automatic transmissions and electric models are on the rise, but an eighteen-year-old novice driver obviously doesn’t have the budget for it. He buys an old Clio, Polo or Yaris for a few thousand euros.