Electric cars won’t kill the manual, crippling regulations will

Words: Matthew HansenWe’ve talked plenty about the humble manual transmission. But according to a new report, the final nail in the coffin of the manual gearbox will be global safety regulations. The report poses an interesting question; how long will manufacturers persevere with manual transmissions if or when Autonomous Emergency Braking becomes a mandatory requirement? The active-safety feature has become more and more common in recent years, with most subcompact economy cars now offering it as standard. It’s also important to note that Europe, arguably the sole remaining manual transmission stronghold where mainstream models still get manual options on a frequent basis, is also likely to be the first continent that bans the internal combustion car … most likely subsequently phasing out the few remaining manuals with it.