Sale Rates of Manual VW Models are Not So Bad
We continue analyzing statistics on sales figures of manual models from car manufacturers who still put hopes on manual transmissions. Now it’s VW’s turn to tell us how many admirers of the German carmaker still prefer to use gear sticks. According to media reports, the positions of manual models in the VW product line are still quite strong, at least when compared to the data from other automakers.
Last year, as expected, the most popular manual
models from VW were Golf R and GTI with impressive 44% of taking rate. Some may
argue that the majority of buyers still gave preference to more comfortable
DCT-equipped variant. But it should be taken into account that the dual-clutch
transmission offered for these models is really good. Moreover, when you take a
look at sales of the Toyota 86, for example, and VW statistics will look even
more impressive.
Manual VW GTI model
But the most unexpected news is the success of
the manual Sportwagen (including Alltracks) model. Almost 1/3 (28%) of buyers
opted for the manual variant. It is a clear evidence of the fact that VW’s fans
still are not ready to give up on manual transmissions and enjoy using a gear
stick.
However, you should not get carried away with
these promising statistics on sales of manual models, because when you start
analyzing the whole picture on manual model sale rates of a particular brand in
comparison with other transmission options, the numbers turn out to be quite
low among all automakers.
Manual VW Golf R model
For example, when we have a closer look at sales of regular Golf hatchbacks, Jetta sedans, the share of manuals is not so big (10 and 7% accordingly). Overall, manual VWs accounted only for 5% of company’s sales last year. So it can be concluded that many automakers still continue competing for the manual segment and provide a wide range of models equipped with gear sticks, despite the mounting economic pressure from automatics.
