Volkswagen is expected to completely abandon the manual transmission by 2030, a new report claims.
The German car manufacturer is in the midst of a massive electrification push and by 2030, plans to be selling nothing but electric vehicles across Europe. Since its EVs don’t have manual transmissions, this is thought to be the year that VW’s range will be free of stick shifts, Auto Motor und Sport reports.
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It is claimed that the next-generation Tiguan, set to launch in 2023, will be offered exclusively with an automatic transmission. That same year, the updated Passat will also lose its option of a stick shift. Auto Motor und Sport suggests that this move won’t just impact the VW brand but the VW Group as a whole, meaning the end of manual gearboxes for vehicles from Skoda, Seat and Audi as well.
While driving enthusiasts will mourn the eventual death of the manual transmission, the writing has been on the wall for more than a decade and we knew it would happen eventually. Fortunately, there are still plenty of great cars out there that let you row your own gears, including VW’s own 2022 Golf GTI and Golf R.
Of these two, the Golf R has attracted the most headlines in recent months thanks to its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that pumps out an impressive 315 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque with the DSG dual-clutch transmission or 280 lb-ft (380 Nm) with the six-speed manual. It also features an advanced 4Motion all-wheel drive system complete with rear-axle torque vectoring and a Drift mode.
