The time is now upon us. We all knew this day was coming but it’s still a bit odd to see. The manual transmission is going to die off, as will the internal combustion engine and both will be replaced with EVs. While the world hasn’t gone fully-electric just yet, the EV has already dispatched one of them — the manual.
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According to a recent report from Driving.ca, who recently spoke with J.D. Power, the manual transmission was beaten by EVs in the third quarter of this year, a market first.
In an email with Driving, Tyson Jominy, Vice-President, PIN Consulting of the Data and Analytics Division at J.D. Power, said“[Manual transmissions] have been on a nearly century-long decline and while no rational person thinks the trend will ever reverse, it was interesting to note that only this year, after nearly a decade in market, EVs were able to surpass last century’s dying technology,”
To be honest, I’m surprised it took this long. There have been some excellent EVs on sale for years now and manuals are dying off more and more every year. With cars like the Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Tesla Models S, 3 and X (See what Elon did there? He’s so clever, right?), you’d imagine that EVs would at least be more popular than the manual transmission. While we love manuals, automakers can’t stop selling them fast enough because no one will buy them.
And it’s only going to get worse for manual lovers. More and more EVs are coming to market and they’re getting better and better. They’re also coming from more and more automakers, both cheap and expensive, economical and luxurious. So the manual transmission is closer to extinct than ever before and if you want one, get one now. You might not get another chance.
[Source: Driving.ca]
Porsche will soon introduce an EV with a manual 8 speed transmission. Just watch.
Guess which one has been laid to rest? Manual still outsells stickshift EV. Because that does not exist. Nor will it. But by all means give BMW grief because they don’t sell manual wagons, which also don’t exist. Any more. Welcome to the 21st century.
Not too surprising. What is surprising is how late everyone is to this ever growing market, and when their vehicles finally do premiere, they’re very underwhelming!
“how late everyone is to this ever growing market…”
This statement does not hold any water, given how large the car market is world-wide, let alone in the US. BEVs represent a small but rapidly increasing market share at the moment, however, EV technology is constantly developing. BMW’s i3 for example, has double the battery power in the same size car now than it did five years ago. There is plenty of time and space in the car market for many manufacturers releasing EVs, so it is most certainly not too late.
As for the main article, it does not surprise me. Car owners in the US have always driven autos far more than manuals for a very long time. The difference will be bigger in Europe. In the UK we favour manuals, but this has changed over the last 10 years or so with people opting for autos. Manuals will be hit further in the UK when more EVs become accesible.
You missed the Model Y.
No one misses Model Y Not.
Yep….the manual will die with the real drivers…..R.I.P