Mercedes-Benz Preparing to say goodbye to manual transmission.
According to a report from the German publication AutomobilewocheMercedes-Benz will discontinue production of vehicles with manual transmission from 2023.
“With increasing electrification, we are seeing consumer demand shifting towards electric mobility components, batteries and (partly) electric drive systems,” said a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson. Automobilewoche (Translated).
“Slowly [Mercedes-Benz will] And does not offer manual transmission. “
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Vito
We knew it would be back in 2020 Autocar The now-Mercedes-Benz Chief Technology Officer (CTO) has announced that the German automaker is excluding manual transmission from its lineup.
No timeline was given for when manual transmission would be omitted.
While this may seem like a surprise, Mercedes-Benz has been basically automatic for some time now.
The Vito commercial van is the only Mercedes-Benz currently available locally with a manual transmission.
The four manual-equipped Vito variants use a smaller 1.6-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine instead of a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, coupled with a nine-speed automatic transmission.
The larger sprinter commercial van lost its manual transmission in 2021 and the X-Class UT was discontinued in 2020.
The latest Mercedes-Benz passenger car that was offered locally with a manual transmission was the 2018 entry-level SLC180 convertible.
Although there are still several A-Class, B-Class and CLA models available in other markets with manual transmission.
We have contacted Mercedes-Benz Van Australia to confirm when the manual Vito models will be discontinued and we will update this story once we hear it.
It is fitting that Mercedes-Benz is manipulating manuals because it has previously promised to be all-electric by 2030 where market conditions allow.
According to the luxury car maker, from 2025 all its new platforms will be electric only.
These include MB.EA for all vehicles from medium to large, AMG.EA for performance vehicles and VAN.EA for commercial vehicles.
Before the 2025 cutoff, Mercedes-Benz will launch a new platform for small vehicles called MMA, which may still offer combustion engine alternatives.
More: Mercedes-Benz will only be EVs by 2030 ‘where market conditions allow’