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The days of the mechanical handbrake are counted as 3 out of 4 new cars sold in Britain are now supplied with electronic parking brakes, one market found.
This will only spell the end of cyclist-preferred handbrake curves, but also the development of manufacturers’ reliance on electronic parking devices in their newer vehicles, which can lead to further headaches for drivers. . if there are gremlins on the system.
According to a study by CarGurus, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo – like Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo – are removing them entirely from their vehicle lines.
Manufacturers engage handbrakes on handbrakes – less than a quarter of new cars sold in the UK have a manual handbrake as brands continue to turn to electronic parking brakes
When Car Buying conducted the same market research in 2018, it found that 37% of new cars had manual handbrakes, dropping to 30% in a new review in 2019.
With that number dropping to just 24% today, they will most likely disappear entirely from showrooms in a few years.
In the last 12 months alone, some models have abandoned the classic handbrake device.
This is the BMW 1 Series and 3 Series, the Peugeot 208 and the British-made Nissan Juke.
Only one major manufacturer, Dacia, has a manual handbrake on each and every style in the line today, according to market research.
This is helping keep the load on the Romanian company’s models low, with the Renault-owned automaker the UK’s cheapest brand, with Sandero superminis at £ 6,995.
Most automakers now only offer mechanical handbrakes for their sportier models or small vehicles, such as the Mazda MX-5 convertible and the BMW M2 functional car that are still sold with a retractable handbrake lever. and the entry-level Seat Ibiza. also with a.
A handful of brands have completely eliminated mechanical parking brakes and replaced them with an electronic parking brake, some using a foot-operated parking brake instead.
The CarGurus revealed that Alfa Romeo, DS, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes, Porsche and Volvo no longer have any models for sale with a manual handbrake, having absolutely disassembled the secular device.
Electronic parking brakes are popular because they appear to be a luxury convenience, they have added protection features like built-in, hill start to assist and assist cabs to clear clutter.
While traditionalists would argue that the electronic parking brake eliminates the tactile feel, mechanical simplicity, and interactivity of the old handbrake, it is still seen as a luxurious and protective feature by many, requiring less physical effort. to hold the car more securely the need for any adjustment.
Most electronic parking brakes disengage automatically when you pull away, and offer an automatic hill grip feature as an added protection benefit.
Design-wise, the transfer is also helping to tidy up the cabs, taking up less interior area than a bulky lever.
But while the electronic choice of manual handbrake has many advantages, if it doesn’t work, motorists fix it themselves.
For example, if the electronic parking brakes are not interacting or not interacting when exiting, the owner may not be able to manipulate a wire under the car to fix the problem.
Instead, the car will most likely want to be taken to a major dealership or garage with a diagnostic device to identify the cause of the problem, which may be time to eat and leave you without a usable car this time.
The electronic parking brake is also more expensive to fix, according to Motor Easy.
The vehicle’s warranty provider said that there had not been a disproportionate accumulation of defects in recent years, but that it had noticed examples of repair expenses in excess of £ 1,000.
Car warranty provider Motor Easy has said that repair costs for non-interacting or non-interacting electronic parking brakes can exceed £ 1,000
And there have been many cases of electronic parking brakes that have affected thousands of cars in the past.
In 2017 Volkswagen was forced to recall 766,000 cars internationally, of which 134,000 were British models due to a recurring factor with electronic parking brakes.
This affected the incredibly popular models in the German brand’s lineup, adding the Golf hatchback, Touran MPV, Tiguan SUV, and the Passat family sedan and station wagon circle.
That same year, Tesla also issued a voluntary recall of 53,000 Model S and Model X cars internationally due to a problem with the parking brake, while Audi, Renault and Toyota also had to recall models due to problems. with its electronic parking systems.
Chris Knapman, CarGurus UK editor-in-chief, said: “ It turns out that the manual handbrake is only a few years away as it continues its steady decline in the new car market, with nearly two dozen models as a model. . option in the last 12. months.
“We expect the number of cars for sale with classic handbrakes to decline further over the next few years as it continues to be relegated to a characteristic of some low-volume sports cars.
“While the manual parking brake will soon be something of the afterlife on new cars, its demise may lead some buyers to dive into the used car market for a bit of nostalgia.
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