The switching device uses a selection lever (5) allowing different gear ratios to be selected, displaced within a switching box (6) between at least one automatic position (D) and a manual position (M). When the selection lever (5) is in the latter position, the gears can be selected manually via a manual gear selector (12), e.g. attached to the steering column. The signals from the manual gear selector (12) are only coupled to the electronic gear switching control (11) when the selection lever (5) is in the manual position (M). -
