Gearshift assembly

A gearshift assembly, said gearshift assembly comprising:

• a shift lever having an overmoulded ball portion comprising a pattern of recesses having straight side walls,
• a base, and
• a socket fixed in the base and shaped to receive the ball portion of the shift lever, the socket having:
• a sidewall with an inner surface forming part of a sphere to provide a pivotal mounting for the ball portion for pivotal movement of the shift lever over a pivotal movement range,
• vertical slots in the sidewall which have parallel vertical side edges and which are open at their upper ends to allow a sidewall portion between adjacent vertical slots to elastically flex outwardly during insertion of the ball portion into the socket,
• wherein the pattern of recesses of the ball portion is arranged such that all sidewalls of the recesses are inclined with respect to side edges of the vertical slots over the pivotal movement range of the shift lever.