How many new automobiles have handbrakes? Hardly any, is the reply
- Choice of latest fashions with guide handbrakes declines by 61% since 2019
- Car half to be killed off quickly as manufacturers change to digital parking brakes
- Electronic parking brakes are far costlier to restore – this is the distinction
If you purchase a brand new automobile from a showroom right now, there is a very excessive probability it will not have a guide handbrake lever in the midst of the cabin.
That’s as a result of greater than 9 in ten new motors are as a substitute geared up with digital parking brakes, in response to market evaluation.
A evaluation of the most recent automobiles on sale revealed that solely 9 per cent are fitted with a standard pull-lever handbrake, with the bulk switching to button-operated digital system – which look like inflicting situation for some drivers.
Last week, a motorist hit headlines after their house safety digicam captured the embarrassing second they forgot to have interaction the digital parking brake on their Audi SUV, which subsequently rolled forwards off the driveway into the street.
But not solely are digital brakes simple to overlook to have interaction, they are often very expensive to restore – greater than 3 times pricier than fixing a guide handbrake, This is Money reveals.
End of the street for the guide handbrake: Fewer than one in 10 new fashions now have one as the normal automobile half is anticipated to turn out to be extinct by the top of the last decade
An annual market evaluation performed by on-line motor retailer CarGurus on the finish of 2023 discovered that 21 of the remaining fashions geared up with guide handbrakes had been scrapped from showrooms through the calendar 12 months.
It means patrons have 61 per cent fewer automobiles to select from which can be geared up with a guide handbrake in comparison with 2019.
The fast disappearance of automobiles with standard handbrakes has been accelerated by manufacturers ditching some ageing fashions of their ranges.
Among these is Britain’s favorite automobile of all time (based mostly on gross sales), the Ford Fiesta.
Ford’s choice to kill off the Fiesta, the nation’s most-owned motor final summer time additionally took with it one of many few fashions nonetheless offered with a guide handbrake.
Ford’s discontinuation of the EcoSport and Kia additionally axeing its Rio supermini eliminated two additional automobiles with handbrakes.
Volkswagen ceasing outputs of the Up! metropolis automobile on the finish of 2023 has eliminated one other mannequin with a handbrake in current months.
Buyers now have 61% fewer automobiles to select from that come geared up with a guide handbrake in comparison with 2019, CarGurus discovered throughout their annual market evaluation
Some 21 fashions that had been geared up with a guide handbrake had been faraway from sale final 12 months. One of these was Britain’s most-owned automobile, the Ford Fiesta
Ford additionally culled the EcoSport compact crossover SUV final 12 months. It was one other automobile offered with a guide handbrake (seen proper)
Kia discontinued the Rio supermini final 12 months, taking with it one other of the few automobiles left in showrooms that had a guide handbrake and never an digital parking brake
Revised variations of the Renault Clio, Renault Captur, Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Yaris in 2023 additionally switched from the normal handbrake to digital parking brakes.
The examine discovered that the manufacturers that supply the best proportion of fashions with a guide handbrake on the finish of final 12 months had been Suzuki (5 of seven fashions, or 71 per cent), Abarth (two of three fashions, or 66 per cent) and Dacia (two of 4 fashions, or 50 per cent).
Fiat and SsangYong rounded out the highest 5, with 45 per cent and 40 per cent of their fashions having handbrakes.
Here’s a breakdown of the most important automobile makers and which of them promote fashions with guide handbrakes. Some 18 out of the 38 scrutinised supply automobiles solely with digital parking brakes
When will the handbrake be killed off for good?
Since the primary instalment of CarGurus’ handbrake report in 2018, the proportion of fashions on sale with a guide handbrake has dropped from 37 per cent to simply 9 per cent.
With many automobile makers transitioning to electrical automobiles (EVs) across the finish of the last decade in time for the proposed ban on gross sales of latest petrol and diesel automobiles from 2035, the normal element is more likely to be extinct in new motors within the early 2030s.
Chris Knapman, CarGurus UK editorial director, stated: ‘It appears the writing’s on the wall for the fabled guide handbrake as the proportion of latest automobiles geared up with one dips into single figures.’
Chris provides that the ‘as soon as common function’ is now largely reserved for smaller and extra inexpensive petrol automobiles, together with Britain’s least expensive new automobile, the Kia Picanto, and others corresponding to Mazda’s 2 supermini.
‘However, the fact is that there’s each probability we’ll see the guide handbrake turn out to be extinct on mainstream automobiles by the top of the last decade,’ he concluded.
Electronic parking brakes are thought-about by the trade and a few drivers to be extra handy as a result of they routinely disengage if you drive away and will – in the event you comply with the proper process – activate if you park up
However, loads of traditionalists a lot want the tactile and mechanical really feel of a standard handbrake, which can be far inexpensive to repair when issues go improper
The value drivers pay for digital parking brakes
While there are those that imagine digital parking brakes are extra handy due to their automated engagement and hill-hold activation, loads of traditionalists nonetheless want a guide handbrake for his or her simplicity and mechanical really feel.
Conventional handbrakes are additionally more likely to be a lot inexpensive to restore than digital options in the event that they go improper.
CarGurus stated repairing an digital handbrake may be as a lot as 3 times the price of a guide handbrake.
According to knowledge held by the Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors, the common invoice to repair a guide handbrake fault final 12 months was £220.37, whereas resolving a difficulty with an digital parking brake was £665.98.
This is Money requested used automobile guarantee supplier MotorEasy for a median declare invoice to repair each handbrake and digital parking brake points.
The guarantee supplier advised us the common restore value for a fault with a guide handbrake is round £250, whereas for an digital parking brake it’s greater than 3 times larger at £820.
Do digital handbrakes routinely have interaction?
As effectively as heftier payments, some motorists are paying the worth of turning into overly reliant on the comfort of the newer tech.
Electronic parking brakes routinely disengage when a driver pulls away and activate as soon as they pull up and park.
However, there are occasions when the latter won’t occur, both as a result of the driving force hasn’t adopted the proper sequence of placing the car into impartial with a guide gearbox or ‘park’ with an automated, or as a consequence of a fault with the system.
Account supervisor Vicky Lane, 23, from Hemel Hempstead, suffered an digital parking brake-related mishap when pulling up in her Audi Q2
Having failed to have interaction the parking brake correctly, the automobile rolled down her driveway – narrowly lacking a fence put up – into the street
Last week, Vicky Lane from Hemel Hempstead shared the embarrassing second she forgot to activate the digital parking brake in her Audi Q2.
The compact crossover – which launched in 2016 – is completely fitted with an digital parking brake throughout all trim ranges.
Footage confirmed the 23-year-old account supervisor exiting her automobile after parking up, solely to see it slowly disappearing down the driveway as a result of the parking brake hadn’t been utilized accurately.
Despite attempting as onerous as she might to cease the automobile from rolling into the street, the free-wheeling German SUV – and Vicky – narrowly miss a fence put up earlier than Vicky manages to get inside to use the brake.
The video highlights the potential risks of failing to examine if an digital parking brake has engaged or not.
HOW DOES IT WORK? Manual handbrake VS digital parking brake
Traditional handbrake
A lever-operated guide handbrake may appear far more primary compared to its digital equal, however the precept of the way it works is identical in that it clamps the brakes on a automobile’s rear axle to stop the wheels from shifting.
This is achieved by way of a piston inside the brake caliper that pushes a brake pad on to the brake disc (or drum).
In a automobile with a guide handbrake, the piston is operated by way of a bodily cable that runs from the rear brakes to the handbrake lever.
As the brake pads put on and the handbrake cable stretches, a guide parking brake would possibly should be adjusted to take care of its full effectiveness.
Electronic parking brake
With an digital parking brake, the piston that clamps the brake disc is operated by way of a change that replaces the normal mechanical lever.
This change electronically prompts (no cables required) a pair of small motors which causes the rear brake pads to maneuver and both clamp or launch the brakes.
Due to the way in which it really works, an digital parking brake self adjusts and so requires much less upkeep, however it’s doubtlessly costlier to restore within the occasion it goes improper.
Source: CarGurus
