SWAPALEASE.COM ANALYSIS OF 50,000+ DRIVERS SHOWS MEN ARE LOSING INTEREST IN MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS FASTER THAN WOMEN

Cincinnati, OH (April 5, 2016)

At what rate is “manual drift” occurring in the American auto industry, and is there a difference between the rate of manual transmission use between men and women? Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, recently analyzed over 50,000 driver records from its marketplace dating back to 2012 to uncover some interesting trends.

“Manual drift” is a phrase coined by Swapalease.com executives that addresses the slow sunset of interest in manual transmissions found in today’s cars. According to analysis conducted recently by the company, the number of manual transmission vehicles driven by Americans has dropped roughly 22% since 2012.

Equally as interesting, the rate of drift isn’t occurring at the same pace for men and women. In its analysis of over 50,000 vehicle records dating back to 2012, Swapalease.com has found that the rate of use is declining for both genders, but it is happening at a faster pace for men compared to women. In fact, the percentage of men driving manual transmission vehicles has dropped from 85.4% in 2012 to 81.2% in 2015. As a result, the percentage for women has responded by adjusting from 14.6% in 2012 to 19.8% in 2015.

Both genders overall are driving fewer manual transmissions during that time, but since the numbers for men are dropping faster, it has caused the percentage to actually increase for women.

“It’s not surprising to see the sunset of manual transmission vehicles, particularly when you consider all the conversation around autonomous driving,” said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com. “It’s difficult to explain why men are drifting away from manual faster than women, but perhaps fathers teaching their daughters to drive still see a premium in teaching both driving methods today.”