Mini will not provide a handbook in its redesigned Cooper hatchback, which suggests the transmission is formally lifeless at a model that till now was one in all its strongest proponents.

Talking with Prime Gear at this week’s 2023 Munich auto present, the place Mini confirmed off its new Cooper in electrical guise, model boss Stefanie Wurst confirmed neither the electrical model nor the yet-to-be-revealed fuel model will provide the choice of a handbook transmission.

The brand new Cooper arrives as a 2025 mannequin however actual timing for the beginning of gross sales within the U.S. hasn’t been introduced. A redesigned Countryman has additionally been revealed for the 2025 mannequin 12 months, and a smaller crossover to be known as the Aceman can be on monitor to reach for the 2025 mannequin 12 months to finish the next-generation Mini lineup.

The dying of the handbook at Mini is not an enormous shock because the model in Might rolled out a particular 1to6 Version model of its outgoing hatch as a celebration of the handbook transmission.

2024 Mini John Cooper Works 1to6 Version

A senior government at Mini’s BMW mum or dad additionally mentioned in June that each the handbook transmission and dual-clutch computerized are on their means out, as standard torque converter-based automatics are higher fitted to the EV transition.

Mini earlier this 12 months revealed the outcomes of a survey, which confirmed that almost half (49%) of all Gen Z respondents indicated they did not know how you can drive a handbook. When requested in the event that they had been prepared to be taught, 53% of the Gen Z respondents indicated they had been considering studying how you can row their very own gears. That proportion grows when all ages as much as 34 are counted; on this case 67% mentioned they had been wanting to be taught.

To cater to people seeking to discover ways to drive stick, Mini has been working a handbook transmission driving course since final fall on the BMW West Coast driving faculty positioned on the Thermal Membership non-public racetrack in California. It is not clear whether or not the course will stick round now that the model is ditching the handbook.