BMW M CEO: “A Manual Transmission Doesn’t Make Much Sense In Reality”

Shifting manually. Some swear by it; others much prefer an automatic. Even when it comes to sports cars, there are two camps when it comes to transmissions. There’s always someone who calls themselves a purist and believes that shifting manually enhances the driving experience so much that it’s the only way to propel your car. Another will say that an automatic shifts much faster and that you’re therefore much faster with it. The latter was rarely the case in the past but has been a reality for years, especially since the advent of dual-clutch transmissions. The head of the BMW department responsible for top-of-the-line sports models says that a manual transmission doesn’t really make much sense these days.

“From a technical perspective, a manual transmission doesn’t really make sense anymore. A manual transmission limits torque and also impacts fuel consumption,” M CEO Frank van Meel told Australian newspaper Carsales. Van Meel understands, however, that there are enthusiasts for manual M models. “Many people love the manual transmission, and that’s why we plan to continue offering them for as long as possible.”

You shouldn’t expect the manual transmission to disappear from BMW M shelves just yet, but it will eventually disappear. “It will become more difficult to develop completely new manual transmissions in the future. The market segment (manual sports top models) is quite small, and suppliers aren’t immediately eager to develop something like that,” concludes the head of the M division.