Volkswagen will stop selling stick-shift cars globally by 2030, in line with its all-electric push this decade.
We’ve all experienced that feeling as we grew up—switching toys for a skateboard and later on to a moped, for example. You want to hold on to that feeling of nostalgia as much as you can, but deep down, you know it’s time to move on to something new. Unfortunately, this story finds its place among stick-shift cars today. With electrification taking major strides recently, the humble ol’ stick is slowly fading away into history.
As reported by Auto Motor und Sport, Volkswagen recently announced the end of manual transmissions for all its cars by 2023 in Europe and 2030 in the US & China. The nail on the coffin arrives a bit earlier for Europe due to its rigorous adoption of EVs coupled with a severe drop in demand for manuals.
However, there’s still something to be excited about amongst enthusiasts as the Volkswagen Golf R & GTI are still available with a 6-speed stick shift, and it’s the same for the new Jetta & Jetta GLI. In a survey conducted by Jato, of the 5,838 models across all manufacturers currently sold in Germany, only 1,870 were offered with a manual option. Moreover, of the 353 Volkswagen models, 219 are equipped with an automatic (DSG), while only 139 are offered with a stick-shift.
Despite what these stats say, there’s no denying that manuals have been around for a while and should continue to go on for some time. After all, the feeling of being one with the car with every gear change won’t be replaced that easily.
Following Mercedes’s commitment, VW’s announcement is part of its long-term goal of electrifying at least 70% of its models by 2030. It will be interesting to see what other changes such a plan will lead the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer to implement.
Source: Auto Motor und Sport (German(
