Gear selection apparatus for a vehicle and method for shifting a vehicle transmission

A gear selection apparatus for a vehicle, wherein the gear selection apparatus comprises:

• a first contact strip comprising numerous a plurality of low level contact surfaces and a plurality of high level contact surfaces, wherein the low level contact surfaces are configured to connect to a low level connection for applying a low voltage level, and wherein the high level contact surfaces are configured to connect to a high level connection for applying a high voltage level;
• a second contact strip comprising a plurality of signal contact surfaces, wherein the signal contact surfaces are configured to connect to at least six signal connections for tapping a signal combination comprised of at least six signals representing at least one of the low voltage levels and the high voltage levels;
• and
• a gearshift lever with a slider, wherein the slider is configured to slide along the first contact strip and the second contact strip between a plurality of gearshift lever positions when the gearshift lever is actuated, wherein the slider is configured to electrically connect each of the contact surfaces of the first contact strip to respective signal contact surfaces for generating each of the at least six signals in each of the gearshift lever positions of the plurality of gearshift positions.