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BMW M Boss: Hybrid Tech Makes Offering Manuals 'Really Difficult'

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BMW M Boss: Hybrid Tech Makes Offering Manuals 'Really Difficult'

BMW M boss Frank van Meel just gave the clearest answer yet on the manual transmission's future—and there's good news. Speaking to BMW Blog, van Meel said: "No, it is not off the table." That said, the executive won't make any promises either.

The culprit is 48-volt mild-hybrid technology creeping into the lineup, stacked on top of rising engine torque and a supplier base that keeps shrinking. For anyone who still rows their own gears in an M2, the timeline changes more than the headline.

Van Meel's comments walk a careful line between acknowledging reality and refusing to close the door. "It is going to be really difficult," he said of keeping manuals in the lineup.

He did not dodge the demand question either. "We do acknowledge that there is a high demand, and it is a very emotional issue," van Meel admitted, and that lines up with what BMW M dealers already see on their lots. In recent G87 model-year sales, about half of US M2 buyers choose the six-speed manual over the automatic. That's a number hard to ignore even for an automaker pushing hard into electrification.

Today's lineup backs up that enthusiasm. The manual is available on the rear-wheel-drive M2, while the current G82 M4 CS on sale in the United States is automatic-only with BMW's eight-speed M Steptronic transmission. The M3 CS Handschalter arrives for 2027 as a limited-run, rear-wheel-drive manual CS priced by BMW at just over $107,000 before destination, and North American dealers quickly claimed their allocation of build slots.


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