When displaying the electrification, the manual gear is on the last legs. The decline of the clutch pedal also accelerates increasingly demanding driver aid and security systems. The fact that the Take rate of the Stick Shift continues to drop continues to help. Despite these trends, BMW does not give up to offer three pedals in M cars.
During the leather weekend, living BMWblog Chat with Sylvia Neubauer, M -Vice President of customers, brands and sales, about whether manuals have a future. Although the performance department is not firmly obliged to keep the 6MT alive in the long term, it does not close the door:
“I think BMW will always be very creative. We can always think about it [M car with a manual transmission]. BMW M is a more entrepreneurial society of very passionate jungs. So if our engineers can do this, you will always try to do this. “
While Sylvia referred to the prospects of a next generation car with a stick, she told us that BMW is not carried out with the manual in existing products:
“For the current model listing, we always have ideas in mind to bring more manuals in certain quantities to certain markets because we know that there are gearbox lovers. Yes, we will keep them happy.”
Not that this will be a surprise, but during the same interview we learned that BMW does not add a manual into new class cars. As a result, do not expect to row your own gears in the electric M3 (“ZA0”). A clutch pedal in the next generation gas model (“G84”) is clear, but it is certainly not planned for his cousin with zero emissions.
In the meantime, the current M2, M3 and M4 will probably keep their manuals until the end. The “G87” will probably remain in production until the second half of 2029. The two larger M cars will retire earlier, since the “G80” probably bowed in 2027 to make room for “G84”. As far as the “G82” is concerned, the coupé is reportedly retired the following year. We have previously reported that BMW may not carry out another M4 with a gas engine, since the 4-series series is probably not renewed.
It is too early to know what the future for the M2 goes beyond the second generation. Having a follow-up model with a manual in the 2030s would be great, but we don’t have a crystal ball. We know that BMW is considering to improve the current “G87” with XDrive and possibly with the current “G87” Even a CSL.
