BMW’s M chief promises that manual transmissions are here to stay this decade

The list of new cars offered with a manual transmission gets shorter every year. Sure, the dual-clutch automatic shifts gears quicker, but there’s a face-stretching rollercoaster during acceleration and reaching triple-digit speeds. However, few will argue with the fact that they give the same feeling and satisfaction as independently skillfully driving a machine like a car. Head honcho a BMW M performance department Frank van Meel seems to agree.

In a conversation with CarBuzz, van Mill assured fans that despite being a dying breed, the stick will be around. At least until 2030. “Unfortunately, the manual is not so common anymore. It’s more in segments M2 and M3and M4. And for those cars, we continue to offer guidance, and those cars will continue to operate well into the end of this decade,” he said.

However, even the company had to fight for it. This was announced by Timo Resch, M’s vice president for customers, brands and sales BMW the engineers were surprised why they should make one, citing that the automatic was faster. Resch responded, “We said this is what our customers have been asking for. And we really actively listened to our customers, to our fan base. The fans have been asking for it. They got it.”

It seems the cries of fans online have been heard after all. “We have customers who are putting online petitions and voting and pretty much asking us to keep the guidance,” Resch said.

After 2030, things look bleaker for standard gearboxes. The the recently launched BMW M2 will be the last non-electrified M car, for now CarBuzz reports van Mill does not believe hybrids for smaller cars. This likely means that the next M2 will be all-electric. And unless BMW is planning something similar Allegedly, there is a manual for electric cars, like Toyotait won’t have a manual transmission.

Of course, a lot can change in the next eight years. The compliance score can change completely if defenders within the organization suddenly change positions or change companies. For now, though, van Meel and Resch still believe the brand, which bills itself as the ultimate driving car, needs a stick.