BMW Has Sold Only 2 Manual Gearbox Z4s In Australia Since 2019

[cawimmer430]

BMW Has Sold Only 2 Manual Gearbox Z4s In Australia Since 2019

For everyone wondering why the Mk5 Supra has yet to get a manual transmission option, here's something that might justify Toyota's decision. After selling the Z4, its mechanically-similar cousin, for two years, BMW Australia has only sold just two (!) with a manual gearbox. As a result, they will be axing the manual option in the country entirely.

BMW began offering the six-speed manual transmission for the Z4 in 2019. It was only available on the base sDrive20i, which was powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that made 194 hp (197 PS / 145 kW) and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of torque. Power was sent to the rear wheels only, and 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) could be achieved in a respectable 6.8 seconds, 0.2 seconds slower than with the automatic transmission.

"As only two examples of the BMW Z4 sDrive20i fitted with the manual transmission have been sold since launch in [the first quarter of] 2019, BMW Australia has made the decision to remove this variant from the line-up from the July 2021 production month," a spokesperson for BMW Australia told CarAdvice. "However, the Z4 sDrive20i is still available with the eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission."

This take rate of just two cars over two years actually makes this one of the rarest BMWs ever sold in Australia, as its sales amounted to just 0.54 percent of all 371 Z4s sold there. Now, after this and the outgoing M2's end of production, the M3 and M4 are the only BMWs still readily available with three pedals in Australia (the 118i hatchback and 218i Gran Coupe still offer them as a special order option).



Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/07/bmw-kills-manual-transmission-z4-in-australia-after-selling-just-two-since-2019/

[Galaxy]

We shall mark the whole of Aussie nation down as unenthusists.

[cawimmer430]

We shall mark the whole of Aussie nation down as unenthusists.

May they be penalized with electric cars.

[RomanChariot]

Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.

[cawimmer430]

Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.

Diesel Audi R8, anyone?

https://www.carscoops.com/2021/07/this-shop-is-building-a-diesel-powered-audi-r8-but-is-still-undecided-on-the-engine/

[Payman]

Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.

I was going to say something similar. The number would be much higher if Aussies could have the top engine with a stick.

[RomanChariot]

BMW only sold 371 Z4s in Australia. It would be interesting to see the breakdown by engine.

[MX793]

Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.

Yup.  Pair the enthusiast transmission with the unthusiast base engine.  Seems to happen pretty frequently.

[veeman]

Maybe the typical BMW Z4 buyer is like a Jaguar F type buyer.  The take rate for the F type manual transmission was 4% before Jaguar decided to axe it.  Maybe the heel-toe crowd, if looking for a luxury convertible roadster, would get a Porsche Boxster.

[MX793]

Maybe the typical BMW Z4 buyer is like a Jaguar F type buyer.  The take rate for the F type manual transmission was 4% before Jaguar decided to axe it.  Maybe the heel-toe crowd, if looking for a luxury convertible roadster, would get a Porsche Boxster.

Another example of fitting the enthusiast transmission only to the base engine.

[cawimmer430]

Or maybe the enthusiasts who buy the Z4 are happy with the inline-6 and the 8-speed automatic? 

I get the "fun factor" in rowing your own gears, but I am willing to bet that a lot of these Z4 inline-6 / 8-A/T owners were once diehard manual guys who test drove the Z4 with the 8-A/T and ended up liking it for whatever reasons. And maybe they own other, older cars with M/Ts where they can engage in shift orgies. 

I wonder if the two people in Australia who bought the Z4 with the M/T were to cheap to order the A/T. They must be Germans! Buy an expensive car but cheapen out on some options for financial reasons; so German. 

[Soup DeVille]

More and more I've noticed "enthusiasts" not buying new cars at all; and not because of the price either. They're buying good older cars at high prices.

[MX793]

More and more I've noticed "enthusiasts" not buying new cars at all; and not because of the price either. They're buying good older cars at high prices.

Because newer cars are increasingly less engaging and fun to drive.

[Soup DeVille]

Because newer cars are increasingly less engaging and fun to drive.

Yes, that's a big part of it.

[r0tor]

Maybe the ZF 8 speed is actually really good

[FoMoJo]

Presumably, the non stick have paddle shifters.

[GoCougs]

More and more I've noticed "enthusiasts" not buying new cars at all; and not because of the price either. They're buying good older cars at high prices.

Maybe the ZF 8 speed is actually really good

Enthusiasts have been like that for some time. Yes, sometimes it's because we/they also tend to be cheap, but Jesus, the new M3/M4 dropped its DCT for a slushie, and it starts in 2nd gear for launch control :fuckthatshit:

But also, turbo motors, which pretty much power most enthusiast vehicles these days, usually really really REALLY sorta suck. From lousy sound that needs all sorts of fakery to make it less lousy to terrible response with a M/T baring goofy-ass $$$ reach-arounds like electric supercharger to VG vanes to twin turbos.

[cawimmer430]

Because newer cars are increasingly less engaging and fun to drive.

One gets the feeling that newer cars are designed to fulfill quotas like emissions, CO2 etc. instead of actually the wants and needs to consumers.

With the whole EV route it's only going to get more dull and boring. 

[AutobahnSHO]

Let's face it though, manuals were on the way out decades ago. Manuals were better for fuel economy, but that's turned the other direction. Manuals are cheaper to maintain(?) but if no one buys them then they get more expensive to produce parts for...

[Submariner]

Plus you can play pretend race car driver my wobbling the shifter or pulling the "F1" paddles.

[r0tor]

Let's face it though, manuals were on the way out decades ago. Manuals were better for fuel economy, but that's turned the other direction. Manuals are cheaper to maintain(?) but if no one buys them then they get more expensive to produce parts for...

ZF 8 speed is fill for life fluid... So basically maintenance free

[GoCougs]

Yep, manual transmission phase-out began in the 1950s with the first automatics. They were terrible, so the phase-out didn't hit high gear till the last '50s when Chrysler was the first to hit the scene with a usable, reliable, automatic (the TorqueFlight). Chevy and Ford would follow (albeit much later) by the mid '60s.

[FoMoJo]

Yep, manual transmission phase-out began in the 1950s with the first automatics. They were terrible, so the phase-out didn't hit high gear till the last '50s when Chrysler was the first to hit the scene with a usable, reliable, automatic (the TorqueFlight). Chevy and Ford would follow (albeit much later) by the mid '60s.

Are you forgetting about the Hydra-Matic?

In 1939, Oldsmobiles got the first automatics that really worked well. Everything changed.

The slushboxification of America began in the 1940 model year, when General Motors introduced the revolutionary new Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic transmission in Oldsmobile models (be sure to read Aaron Severson's definitive and thoroughly annotated history of the Hydra-Matic here). The Hydra-Matic wasn't the first automatic transmission, but it was the first affordable one that worked properly, and it changed the automotive world immediately.

[GoCougs]

Are you forgetting about the Hydra-Matic?

No. I mean it worked okay but it was high maintenance, huge, heavy, complicated, expensive, didn't use a torque converter (rough shifting) and didn't have P position. The Chrysler TorqueFlight introduced the torque converter + 3 speeds + low maintenance + durability + excellent operation/performance + P. Plus it was smaller, lighter, less complicated and cost a lot less to produce. The combo of this would serve as the boilerplate for the GM TurboHydramatic and Ford C4/C6. All transmissions would be used into the '80s, and the core TorqueFlight design is still the boilerplate for today's automatics some 60+ years later.

[Raza]

Another example of fitting the enthusiast transmission only to the base engine.

I think the V6 with the supercharger also came with a manual, just not the V8.

[MX793]

I think the V6 with the supercharger also came with a manual, just not the V8.

Pretty sure the F type V6 only came in supercharged form.  Just two different power outputs.

[r0tor]

It's time people admit there is more to a driving experience than a  clutch pedal

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

It's time people admit there is more to a driving experience than a  clutch pedal

True! If I was buying a Classic car that performed best with a manual I would definitely go with the stick shift. Other than that I'll take a good Auto/DCT......

[r0tor]

I don't think I would have gotten my Alfa with a stick if it wad an option.

[GoCougs]

Once the Chrysler TorqueFlight hit the scene in the early '60s (and then later, the GM TH350/400 and FoMoCo C4/C6), the 4sp. manual was sorta a tough sell, esp. for drag racing, for they drove like a tractor, and were usually slower.

These days, turbo motors, which power most enthusiast cars, are sorta sucky with M/T, save for the fanbois who roll in the mess of turbo lag and love it (i.e., WRX).