Automatic cars find many new women buyers The auto industry has some new positioning working out to its advantage. Automatic transmission cars are se

The auto industry has some new positioning working out to its advantage. Automatic transmission cars are seeing brisk sales, thanks to the growing number of female customers who have developed a penchant for such cars. It is widely believed that automatic transmission variants of a number of models are finding a lot of woman takers as it enhances the comfort to drive such cars.

A number of companies that have lined up new automatic transmission-enabled models like Hyundai's i20, GM's Captiva (AT version), Fiat's Linea et al. Moreover, the recently launched models like Honda City, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mahindra Scorpio etc are already equipped with the aforesaid feature. Unlike before, carmakers are offering new-age five to six speed automatic transmission systems which are offering better fuel-efficiency along with improved pick up and performance.

One of the top-selling cars of such variants is the premium hatchback car-i10, which is selling over 1,600 automatic transmission variants per month, which is more than the company's initial estimates.

It was reported earlier that Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), on 22nd September'08, has launched the Scorpio Automatic in Pune and Bangalore, which incorporates a fully automatic 6-speed gearbox and the powerful 2.2 litre mHawk engine. Scorpio is the first Indian brand and the first SUV in its class to offer a 6-speed fully automatic transmission.

According to a senior representative of Hyundai Motor India Limited, the sale of automatic variants of i10 have exceeded the company's expectations. He added that there has been an overwhelming response from woman drivers and the growing congestion in the urban centres is pushing up demand. He also indicated that the company will also roll out the automatic transmission variant in its Verna sedan too and would also bring a variant for the physically challenged.

Commenting on the new trend, one of the top honchos of Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has stated that the company sells the automatic transmission variants for most of its models like Civic, Accord, City, CRV. He added that female buyers are inclined towards high-end features and automatic transmission is one of them.

According to a senior official of GM India, the Captiva model has been selling like hot cakes. Buoyed by the burgeoning demand, the company has decided to launch the automatic variant soon (with a four-wheel drive), that will cost around Rs. 20 lakh.