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      10-26-2013, 06:01 AM   #3
mkoesel
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Drives: No BMW for now
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramos View Post
I was looking forward to the ... savings when I order my M235, only to find that the AT is now standard and the 6MT is a "no cost option"...

When did this change?
I believe it started with the F10. It is the case for all F1x and F3x sold in the US including the M vehicles although the latter get DCT instead of the auto obviously. It will very likely apply to the F8x as well. I believe the Z4 is the only model still offering standard MT as of MY2014, and we can expect that to be reversed for the next generation car.

Quote:
And why is BMW now subsidizing the AT? Are they trying to sway the few undecided buyers away from MT and then further justify not offering MT's at all going forward?
In general it is cheaper to manufacture products in the same configuration rather than different configurations. Similarly the more of some good you buy, the cheaper its unit price will be. For these reasons, there may be little to no cost savings for BMW to produce cars with manual transmissions given the dwindling consumer interest. Of course we cannot know that for sure one way or the other but it is not an unreasonable possibility. And, yes, the price parity of the two transmissions may drive sales of the manual even lower, even faster. But that's just how business works. BMW can't afford to make decisions on an emotional basis or with a personal agenda; they just sell what people want at a price that allows them to turn a healthy profit.

By the way, while it is not unrealistic to expect the MT to go away from BMWs altogether at some point, I think there's at least another generation left for the US. The next 5/6 will probably join the 7 and the SAVs as an auto-only offering (DCT-only for M), but I personally believe the Gxx generation of the 1/2/3/4 and two-seaters will continue with a manual option. After that it's too early to predict in my opinion.
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