Which Fortune 500 company introduced the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission in 1940?

General Motors introduced the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission in 1940.

Oldsmobile, a General Motors division, developed Hydra-Matic and offered it in the 1940 Oldsmobile models. It was the first fully automatic transmission to be mass-produced for passenger cars, eliminating the need for a manually operated clutch during normal driving.

Hydra-Matic used a fluid coupling and a complex set of planetary gears to provide multiple forward speeds. Earlier systems, including semi-automatic transmissions, still required significant driver involvement, so they are not the same milestone.

The name Hydra-Matic later became associated with many General Motors automatic transmissions, even though their designs evolved considerably. The 1940 system is the specific historical breakthrough usually identified as the first mass-produced fully automatic transmission.