The BMW M will still be presented with manual transmission for its new products

The demand from consumers who still want a BMW M car with a manual transmission does not mean that they stop production of the variant with a 3-pedal gearbox.

Autos.id – In recent years, the sales of cars with manual transmissions have experienced a very significant decline. No exceptions in the segment of high-performance sports cars, most of which already use automatic transmission with Paddle Shift. Even so, BMW M does not plan to stop selling high-performance M cars with manual transmission.

BMW M believes there are still people who are still satisfied with a high-performance car with manual gearbox complete with manual gearbox.

Prototype of the BMW M2 2023

Demand for a manual gearbox that remains good

In an interview with British car magazine Autocar, BMW M boss Frank van Meel said demand for BMW M cars with manual transmission is still relatively high. This is reflected in the sales of the latest BMW M2 with 50% of total sales by purchasing the manual transmission variant.

This fact makes BMW M feel that they don’t need to stop selling high-performance cars with manual transmission. Although the market share is not as large as the automatic transmission and has some crucial shortcomings, it does not force them to stop producing manual transmissions.

“From a technical point of view, in fact, maintaining a manual transmission is not a wise choice, but from a business and pleasure point of view, there are still many people who like our high-performance cars with manual transmission and still have a large fan base, “said Van Mell.

He also claimed that the existence of a connection that allows the driver to tame the car and a much more enjoyable driving experience causes BMW to still keep the M with manual transmission. BMW M said that although other brands have stopped producing manual gearbox cars, manual transmissions have become the emotional attraction of BMW M cars.

Furthermore, Van Meel said that the market for manual transmission BMW M cars is still relatively high in several countries such as the United States. “As long as people still want a manual gearbox BMW M and the market is good, there is no reason for us to stop producing manual gearbox cars.” Added Van Meel.

Another thing that reinforces the continuation of the manual transmission of the BMW M is the loss of the latest generation of the BMW M2. BMW’s smallest high-performance car will reportedly come with a 6-speed manual gearbox which will also be presented in addition to the ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox they have been preparing from the start.