- BMW M boss says that manuals may not be around for a long time.
- Engineering challenges and low demand make manuals harder to justify.
- BMW still sells the M2, M3, M4, and Z4 with a manual.
Bad news for BMW M fans: Manual transmissions may be no more. Even though around 40 percent of M customers will opt for a manual gearbox by 2025 (according to our data), BMW M bosses aren’t convinced it’s worth sticking around.
Head of BMW M, Frank van Meel, to Australia Car Sales that, from an engineering point of view, the manual “doesn’t make much sense”. Van Meel notes that the company will definitely keep the manual around for a few more years for its die-hard fans, but it may not have a future in the BMW M lineup.
“In the future it will be very difficult to develop new gearboxes because the market segment is quite small, and suppliers are not very interested in doing something like that.
So we’re still happy with the manuals we have, and we plan to keep them for the next few years, but in the future, it may be more difficult to maintain those manuals, especially in the next decade.’
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that from Van Meel, either. Back in 2024, BMW M chiefs told customers that if they wanted a manual M model, they should buy it now. Van Meel argues that ever-evolving technology and waning customer demand make it increasingly difficult to justify a manual-transmission car—even in the M range.
But don’t worry, you still have time. BMW currently offers four manual vehicles: the M2, M3, M4, and Z4 with the Handschalter Package. Unfortunately, the Z4 will be gone at the end of 2026, and with BMW preparing a new 3 Series and M3, it’s unclear what the fate of the manual transmission will be for those models.
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Motorcycle Pickup1: Long live the manual. Even though fewer customers are interested in homemade shifters, BMW eliminating the manual transmission option on its M cars could be a big mistake.
