BMW is one of the last car companies offering manual transmissions. And the folks at BMW M want to continue offering manual transmissions for as long as possible, but it does admit that it’s getting harder and harder to do. At the moment, you can get a manual in the BMW M2, M3, and M4, but the Z4 M40i is dead so that’s gone, so that’s it for U.S.-based Bimmers. BMW CEO Frank van Meel told BMWBlog that the M2 and M4 are guaranteed to keep the manual for a few more years but, after that, technical complications and a shrinking supply chain could kill it after that.
“It’s going to be really difficult,” van Meel said. According to van Meel, it’s tough to make manuals work with 48-volt mild-hybrid systems that are becoming increasingly popular in modern Bimmers. However, he doesn’t exactly explain why. “I don’t want to explain why it’s difficult, because every engineer always explains why things are difficult,” he said. But that’s odd because it’s not like there have never been manual hybrids before. The Honda CR-Z was a manual hybrid back in its day. I’m not saying van Meel is wrong, I just wonder if it’s just more difficult and expensive to engineer than it’s worth.
A supply chain for manuals that gets smaller every year doesn’t help the value proposition, either. However, despite the difficulty that comes with keeping the manual around, van Meel and his team are trying their best and won’t write it off completely just yet. “No, it’s not off the table,” van Meel said. “As you can hear, we are always trying to find solutions.”
BMW’s competition is also offering fewer manuals. While Porsche still offers manuals in several 911 models and in both the Boxster and Cayman, the latter two are dying. The next-gen Boxster/Cayman will be electric only, which leaves the 911 as the last standing manual Porsche. However, models like the Carrera GTS lost the manual, ironically also to accommodate a mild-hybrid system, so it’s only a matter of time that more 911 models drop it. Without as much manual competition, BMW M will likely see less reason to keep investing in it, so fewer customers will be able to go across the street to get a stick-shift.
Hopefully BMW can figure out a way to keep the manual around for future models, but it’s time is limited. There will be a day when BMW no longer offers three pedals, and that will be a sad day. But van Meel is trying to prolong that day for a long as possible.
