New Delhi. Now the demand for automatic transmission (AT) vehicles is increasing rapidly in the country. Despite expensive prices, people are now choosing automatic cars for more comfortable driving experience and better fuel efficiency. These vehicles, once considered luxury, now account for about 26% of the country's mass-market vehicle sales, whereas in 2020 this figure was only 16%. This information has come out from the data collected by Jato Dynamics. Due to increasing traffic in urban and metro cities, people are now turning towards such cars which can move easily in heavy traffic.
According to this data, one out of every three cars sold in the top 20 cities of the country is now with automatic transmission. However, they cost ₹60,000 to ₹2 lakh more than manual cars. Nevertheless, the increasing demand for automatic cars is closing this gap.
AT option in 83 models
The availability of AT options in the market is increasing rapidly. Currently there are 83 models in which the option of automatic transmission is being offered. Major automobile manufacturing companies like Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai and Kia are promoting their AT models.
Honda's success and popularity of CVT
Honda Motors, which offers advanced Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) in its cars, has more than 50% of the company's total sales coming from automatic vehicles. According to Honda, about 60% of the company's cars are sold in CVT variants, because CVT transmission is not limited to only the top variants, but it is also available in the lower variants of all the models.
Honda's line-up includes models like Elevate, City, City e:HEV and Amaze. These automatic transmission cars are not only more fuel efficient, but they offer options ranging from affordable AMT to CVT and high-performance DCT.
Increasing popularity among buyers of every category
The popularity of automatic transmission cars is increasing among people of every age and class. The main reasons for this are believed to be increasing urbanization, increasing income of people and increasing trend towards convenient driving. Car manufacturers are expecting this trend to increase further.
still dependent on imports
Although demand for automatic transmissions has increased, Indian carmakers are still importing most of the automatic gearboxes. Due to this, the cost of automatic cars increases and by the time they reach the customers, cars with automatic gearbox become expensive. However, companies like Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra have localized AMT production, making automatic cars more accessible in the budget segment.
Tags: auto news
FIRST PUBLISHED: October 13, 2024, 13:51 IST