One of the most important and complex mechanical systems on road motor vehicles is the transmission. The task of the transmission is the transformation and transmission of power, torque and speed of rotation with the engine to the drive wheels in order to obtain the highest possible engine efficiency. Gearboxes play the most important role in the transmission as they directly change the torque and speed on the drive wheels. They also play a role in changing the direction of movement of the vehicle and interrupting the transmission of torque that allow the engine to run while the vehicle is not moving. The first gearboxes were manual gearboxes and were very simple and cheap to make, install and repair. Such transmissions required the driver to select the desired gear. With the development of the vehicle, automatic transmissions emerged that did not require the driver to select a gear while driving. With such gearboxes, it was important to choose the desired direction of movement when moving from a stationary position. Such features allow the passenger comfort and ease of driving. The disadvantages of automatic transmissions were slow gear changes, lower vehicle acceleration and increased fuel consumption. Automatic transmissions due to their complexity were assembled for production and maintenance. The development of new technologies reduces the shortcomings of automatic transmissions, the use of which is increasing. In this paper, the entire transmission system of road vehicles will be presented. The emphasis will be on manual, semi-automatic and automatic transmissions their impact on the performance characteristics of road vehicles.