The bell tolls for Mercedes-Benz manual transmission

STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz is embarking on an electrification strategy that will see the introduction of new all-electric models in the next few years and as a result, the manual transmission is going the way of the Dodo.

According to a Tweet posted by Autocar’s Greg Kable: The head of @MercedesBenz's R&D operations, Markus Schaefer, has confirmed the company will ‘eliminate manual transmissions’ as part of cost-cutting initiatives that will also see a ‘substantial reduction in platforms’ and a ‘very dramatic reduction in combustion engines’.

Automotive News Europe has recently reported that Mercedes-Benz was planning to phase out its internal combustion variants by 40% by 2025 and by up to 70% by 2030.

Who wants a manual gearbox in a Mercedes-Benz? Currently in Malaysia, none of its models and variants under Mercedes-Benz Malaysia come with a manual transmission indicating that its clientele don't really care for it.

In that sense, Malaysians have moved on compared to other Mercedes-Benz markets that offer manual transmissions.