BMW manual transmissions are quickly becoming obsolete. Dirk Hacker, the head of development for BMW’s M division, told Top Gear that the M2 will most likely be the last with a manual transmission.
BMW and suppliers
According to Hacker, company and suppliers have yet to decide whether the manual transmission will be discontinued with the current M2.
According to Hacker, citing the global automotive industry outlook, the number of manual gearbox vendors is decreasing.
“So I’m not sure we will have the possibility in the future—but the future means six, seven years in the forecast,” he added.
Other automakers use synthetic gear shifts and engine sounds to simulate the manual driving experience in electric vehicles.
Toyota announced a performance EV with manual transmission this morning. When asked if this idea could be replicated for BMW, Hacker replied, “It could be done, but we won’t.”
Last year, M Division Head Frank van Meel stated that the stick shift will be available until the end of the decade. North America stated that manual transmissions will continue to be available in the M2, M3, and M4.
According to the hacker, M cars no longer use dual-clutch transmissions. He also stated that ZF’s eight-speed torque converter automatic gearboxes outperform and are more reliable than DCT gearboxes.
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