An automatic transmission is provided comprising a transmission case, a
first shaft housed in and rotationally supported by said transmission
case, and capable of receiving torque from an engine, a first shifting
gear mechanism arranged coaxially with the first shaft, and a second
shifting gear mechanism including a second planetary gear set. The second
planetary gear set is housed within the transmission case and arranged
coaxially with the first shaft, one of its sun and ring gears is capable
of rotating together with the input shaft, and the other of the sun and
ring gears is fixed to the transmission case. The automatic transmission
further comprises first and second frictional elements arranged at least
partly overlapped with the second planetary gear set in the axial
direction between the planetary gear set and the transmission case in the
radial direction. Accordingly, the plurality of frictional elements may
be arranged on a shorter shaft without excessively increasing the radial
size of the automatic transmission.