BMW will not give up manual transmission until at least 2030

Frank van Meel, head of BMW M, said that the manual transmission will continue to be used in the BMW M3, M4, and the new BMW M2. The latter model will likely be phased out by 2030, while the M3 and M4 are scheduled to be discontinued by 2028.

During a recent conversation with CarBuzz, Frank van Meel said that customer demand is the only thing keeping manual transmissions alive. BMW vice president of sales, Timo Resch, echoed that, saying that BMW M engineers need to be convinced to keep the manual around. Resch said M engineers will ask why they need the manual transmission when it's slower than automatics, and the answer is always the same: M customers want manuals.

The BMW M2 is possibly the last new M car that will be offered with a manual. The new M Division products will be either plug-in hybrids or fully electric vehicles. Once the lineup is electrified, the manual transmission from BMW will no longer be available. Good news: we have more than seven years of three-pedal driving from BMW.