BMW will soon stop offering manual versions of the 2-Series in the US as part of their streamlining process on equipment levels.
The Bavarian car maker plans to offer fewer variants of engines and equipment in order to offset its high R&D spending through 2019, according to Reuters.
And while the vast majority of the things BMW plans to ditch makes sense, dropping the manual option for the US-spec 2-Series might not please enthusiasts.
BMW’s finance chief Nicolas Peter said that they’ll stop offering the manual gearbox in their smaller coupe in order to cut down the cost of certifying components for different markets, and that they did the same when they stopped offering a manual gearbox option for the entry-level diesel 5-Series.
BMW is also planning to cut down the number of engine options in its range. “In the 5 series we have four diesel engines on offer. I would not bet on there being four diesel engines on offer in the next generation vehicle,” Peter said.
The company is currently developing electric and autonomous cars in addition to powertrains that must meet ever stricter emission regulations. Add to this China’s aggressive push to introduce electric car quotas that forced BMW to accelerate the development and introduction of electric and plug-in hybrid models and you can see why they took this decision.
“We have over 100 steering wheels on offer. Do we need that many variants?” Peter said.
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