Automotive News Canada - April 2021-v2 - 18

* APRIL 2021

GEARING DOWN
Stick-shifts - already
losing a popularity
contest - are also being
forced into retirement
by new safety systems
By STEVE MERTL

VA N C O U V E R C O R R E S P O N D E N T

THE STICK-SHIFT SLIDE

The change in percentage of total sales
of select vehicles that came with manual transmissions - over the span of five
model years - either due to demand
changes or reduced availability of manual
transmissions.

MANDATE? MAYBE
Transport Canada regulators
have begun a process that could
result in such a mandate, a department spokesman said. In 2019, the
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration reached an agreement with 20 manufacturers to volun-

MANUALS SLIPPING
THE FIVE-SPEED MANUAL
gearbox remains the most popular choice worldwide, according
to the global research firm IHS
Markit. But automatic transmissions dominate in Canada and
the United States and are gaining
popularity in Asia and Europe.
Product evolution has closed
the fuel-economy and cost gap
between automatic and manual
transmissions, removing prime
reasons for choosing three pedals over two. Drivers who prize
sportiness and control over convenience make up most of the
manual market now.
Statistics from IHS Markit and
ZF Group, a global Tier 1 automotive supplier, show the global
market for manual transmissions
is down to 17.1 per cent and is 1.2
per cent for North America. IHS
found that sales of electric vehicles eclipsed those of stick-shift
vehicles in the United States last
year.

PHOTO: MAZDA CANADA

Note: In 2016, manual-transmission vehicles
accounted for 2.7 per cent of Toyota sales. That
fell to 0.9 per cent in 2020.

those models, unlike those with automatic transmissions, lack an electronic brake, which is used to keep the car
from creeping in an emergency stop.
The decision not to adapt EyeSight
to manual models was economic,
Pawczuk said.
" If it's only 10 per cent of your sales
and dropping, then your choices are
either to improve EyeSight as a technology and make it better for the vast
majority of vehicles that have it, or
try to create something for the manual, " he said.

Mazda Canada

SOME STICK BY MANUAL

Toyota Canada
THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION,
in decline among North American car
buyers for decades, faces fresh technological threats to its existence.
Advanced driver-assist systems
such as intelligent cruise control and
automatic emergency braking (AEB)
could further erode the manual's market share - which sits at only 1.2
per cent in North America, according to global auto supplier ZF Group.
These smart safety features can function with manuals but work best with
automatics.
Smart safety uses cameras, radar,
lidar - using lasers - and other sensors to maintain safe traffic gaps
under cruise control. They also alert
drivers to an imminent collision,
braking automatically if necessary.
The technology poses a dilemma
for automakers: Spend money to adapt
it to work with manual transmissions or recognize declining consumer
demand? The response depends on the
company and the market.
Also, dozens of countries have
agreed to make AEB mandatory, just
like antilock braking and skid control
systems.

All Mazda stick-shift
vehicles have the Smart
City Brake Support
system. " We don't want to
penalize the drivers who
want to choose a manual
transmission, " said Chuck
Reimer of Mazda Canada.

2016

2020

Corolla

5.3%

1.9%

Corolla HB

14.4

11.6

86/Scion FRS

58.4

61.3

Tacoma PU

4.6

0.7

Mazda, by contrast, equips stick2016
2020
shift cars with its Smart City Brake
Support system.
Mazda3
19.2%
6.4%
" We don't want to penalize the
Mazda3 Sport
27.4
12.8
drivers who want to choose a manual transmission, " said Chuck Reimer,
MX-5
60.1
50.8
manager of product communications
at Mazda Canada.
Mazda6
7.0
0
Stalling the vehicle if the driver
CX-5
2.0
0
forgets to depress the clutch pedal is
an acceptable trade-off, he said.
Note: In 2016, manual-transmission vehicles
Likewise, Mazda's
accounted for 8.5 per cent of Mazda sales. That
radar cruise control
fell to 3.2 per cent in 2020.
operates with a manual gearbox, Reimer
Subaru Canada*
said. The driver still
has to change gears if
2016
2020
the speed goes below
Impreza
16.7%
14.4%
or above the engine's
comfortable rev
Crosstrek
9.6
10.1
range, but the system Trampler:
BRZ
73.6
79.0
will remain engaged. Marrying
hybrid
Toyota Canada
Outback
4.2
0
technology
Vice-President
with a manual
WRX/STi
81.4
86.1
Stephen Beatty
transmission
said the company
can be
*Subaru Canada estimates
has a two-pronged
approach. All models expensive.
PHOTO:
developed in-house
ZF GROUP
tarily equip most new vehicles with
have Toyota's Safety
AEB by 2022, which likely makes any
Sense system as standard equipment,
Canadian regulation moot.
but it is modified to work with
AEB will be required on
manual-equipped vehicles.
new cars and light trucks sold
" We've tried to democratize
in Europe next year. Most
safety systems throughout our
automakers have added the
lineup, " Beatty said.
feature in advance of the reguFor jointly developed prodlation's taking effect, Manfred
ucts, it depends on the partMeyer, ZF's senior vice-presiner's approach. For example, a
dent, active safety engineering,
manual Toyota Yaris subcomsaid from the company's headpact, which shares a platform
Pawczuk:
quarters in Germany.
with the Mazda2, gets AEB.
Manual " That is a function that is
But on the Toyota 86, built
ready to go, " Meyer said. That transmission
alongside the Subaru BRZ, it's
vehicles
includes manual transmismade up less unavailable.
sions, which still dominate in
Subaru remains committed
than 10 per
the subcompact and compact
to offering manual-equipped
cent of total
passenger vehicles popular in
sales in 2019. vehicles, Pawczuk said, but regEurope.
A decade ago ulation would force it to decide
A decade ago, manuals rep- it was 25
whether to invest in adapting
resented up to one quarter of
its AEB for use with manuals.
per cent.
Subaru Canada's annual sales
" If it becomes mandated
PHOTO: SUBARU
CANADA
volume, said Anton Pawczuk,
one day, then we'll have to
a spokesman for product mantake a look at it, " he said.
agement. By 2019, it was less than 10
Growth in hybrid-vehicle sales
per cent.
is also a factor, said Jörg Trampler,
Subaru's EyeSight smart safety
director of electrified powertrain
system is not available on any mantechnology at ZF's North American
ual-equipped model. One reason is
engineering centre in Livonia,

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SMART SAFETY FEATURES
Toyota Safety Sense*

* Pre-collision system alerts driver
and then brakes automatically
if driver doesn't react.
* Dynamic radar cruise control
* Lane-departure warning. Power
steering-equipped vehicles have
steering that automatically makes
small corrections to the driving line.
* Automatic high-beam headlights

Subaru EyeSight*

ac
of
20

U
s
C
u

* Lane-departure and sway warning
chimes when vehicle drifts or is
too close to adjacent lane. Some
models provide steering-assistance control to maintain position
at speeds above 65 km/h.

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* Adaptive cruise control

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* Pre-collision throttle management cuts power when starting off
if it detects potentially hazardous
object.
* Pre-collision braking helps gradually slow or stop vehicle completely
when detecting panic-braking situation ahead.

Mazda I-Activesense*

* Lane-departure warning
* Adaptive cruise control
* Forward-collision warning
* Blind-spot monitoring
* Adaptive front lighting moves headlight up to 15 degrees in direction
of turn.
* Automatic high-beam headlights
* Rear cross-traffic alert
* Smart Brake Support: At medium
to high vehicle speeds, detects
objects up to 200 metres ahead,
slowing vehicle automatically if risk
of collision detected.
* Smart City Brake Support: At low
vehicle speeds, detects objects on
the vehicle's path and prepares the
vehicle to stop by moving brake
pads closer to disc, braking automatically if driver doesn't react.
* Partial list of content.
Features vary by model.

Mich. Adding manual shifting to a
hybrid drivetrain requires additional technology, such as an electronic
clutch, to ensure seamless switching
between internal combustion and
electric power. " All of a sudden, "
Trampler said, " things become really
expensive. " - ANC

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Automotive News Canada - April 2021-v2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - April 2021-v2