Stick shift, RIP: Enthusiast icon VW Golf GTI latest to ditch the manual

Posted by Talbot Payne on May 1, 2025

Reston, Virginia — Et tu, GTI?

The manual transmission-operated automobile has shrunk to a niche, performance market in recent years as automatic transmissions have been favored by customers for their ease of use — and by manufacturers for their favorable fuel economy rating to meet tightening government carbon-dioxide emissions regulations.

But now even performance vehicles are ditching the stick. Case in point: the Volkswagen Golf GTI, a pioneer in the affordable hot-hatch segment and a vehicle that thousands of manual enthusiasts cut their teeth on since the compact Golf’s hellion model was introduced to the United States in 1983.

The 2025 VW Golf GTI (left) and Golf R ditch the stick.

The 2025 VW Golf GTI (left) and Golf R ditch the stick. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

For the 2025 model year, the $33,670 GTI (and its sister, all-wheel-drive, $48,325 stablemate, the Golf R, introduced in 2012) will no longer have a manual option. Only a 7-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission will be on offer. The GTI/Golf R follows the Mini Cooper (and its John Cooper Works performance variant) hatchback in closing out a manual option this year.

“Our American buyers hold the stick in high regard,” said Petar Danilovic, VW’s North America senior vice president for marketing and strategy. “About 35-40% of GTI sales are manual. But it’s not as popular in Europe, where the take rate is only about 3%.”

Sky-high $7-a-gallon gas prices and onerous emissions standards have tempered Europeans’ enthusiasm for manual gearboxes.

“Increasing emissions standards have made it very difficult to manufacture manuals,” added Danilovic at VW’s North American headquarters in Reston. “We tried to keep it as long as possible here in the North American region because we have this enthusiast fan base here. At a certain point we said: OK, we’d rather invest more in the car (for example) in the engine on the Golf R.” For 2025, the Golf R extracts 13 extra horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder engine.

The 2025 VW Golf GTI offers only a 7-speed automatic transmission after 50 years in the market with a manual option.

The 2025 VW Golf GTI offers only a 7-speed automatic transmission after 50 years in the market with a manual option. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Anticipating the manual’s demise, Golf GTI and Golf R sales jumped by 48.6% and 29.6%, respectively, last year as American buyers snapped up the last of the manuals.

Danilovic noted that the automatic hot hatches have a manual mode operated by steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles. And buyers can still get a six-speed manual in the Golf’s performance cousin, the Jetta GLI sedan. Jetta is made in Mexico while the Golf GTI/Golf R is produced in Germany.

Auto enthusiast and auto analyst Karl Brauer of iSeeCars said that once multi-speed automatic transmissions outpaced manuals in fuel economy, the writing was on the wall for the stick as a mass-volume gearbox.

“There is no justification for a manual today except as an enthusiast car,” said the California-based analyst, who once drove a manual BMW M3 but now prefers an automatic BMW 330i when slogging through Los Angeles traffic. “On fuel economy, on useability, an automatic is superior. Nearly every major city now has traffic issues, and automatics are less frustrating to drive for most people.”

The 2024 VW Golf GTI was the last model year of the hot hatch to get a manual transmission.

The 2024 VW Golf GTI was the last model year of the hot hatch to get a manual transmission. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

He was puzzled, however, as to why Volkswagen would give up on the manual for the GTI and Golf R — especially as they were targeted at American enthusiasts as they only Golf trim available to the U.S. market since the 2022 model year.

“Brands like Mazda (Mazda 3 and Miata MX-5), Subaru (WRX) and Ford (Mustang) will continue to make manuals as long as people want them,” Brauer said. “Their buyers are a passionate audience. Enthusiast brands will be more than happy to see VW exiting the market because that means more customers for them.”

Volkswagen also has made no secret about its intent to go all-electric by the middle of next decade as governments from the European Union to California phase out the sale of internal combustion engines. Single-speed electric vehicles do not have traditional gearboxes to build engine torque.

To that end, Volkswagen has said that the current, eighth-generation, internal combustion engine Golf will be the brand’s last with the first electric GTI, likely to be called the Volkswagen ID.GTI, arriving in 2026.

V-dub head of design Andreas Mindt previewed the coming electric hot hatch in an Instagram post in 2023 with the caption: “The Golf GTI was first unveiled at the 1975 Frankfurt Motor Show with a production run of 5,000 units. To date, we have sold more than 2.8 million. In 2026, we will introduce an electric version of this iconic model.”

The 2025 Honda Civic Si is affordable at $31k - and fun to drive.

The 2025 Honda Civic Si is affordable at $31k – and fun to drive. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

According to enthusiast publication Car and Driver, there are nearly 400 car models in the United States and 24 of those have a manual gearbox option. All but two of those manuals are performance focused — the Mazda 3 and Nissan Versa being the exceptions. Two others — the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra — are due to be discontinued after the 2026 model year, further paining the #SaveTheManual movement.

The $18,330 Versa, like entry-level vehicles of the past, offers its stick only in base trim. However, the wee Nissan, currently the most affordable car in the U.S. market, will be discontinued after the 2025 model year. Also an entry-level compact, the Mazda 3 offers its stick shift as an upgrade on its Premium trim front-wheel-drive models.

Brauer said offering the stick as an upscale option will help preserve the manual going forward.

“Look at the Porsche 911 GT3 and Carrera T and 2024 Aston Martin Valour,” Brauer said of recent high-priced offerings. “They are low volume, aimed at enthusiasts, and will demand a premium — and high residual value — given their low production numbers.”

2025 model year manuals in U.S.

  • Acura Integra/Integra Type S
  • BMW M2
  • BMW M3
  • BMW M4
  • BMW Z4
  • Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
  • Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
  • Ford Mustang GT/Dark Horse
  • Honda Civic Si/Type R
  • Hyundai Elantra N
  • Lotus Emira
  • Mazda 3
  • Mazda MX-5 Miata
  • Nissan Versa
  • Nissan Z
  • Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman
  • Porsche 911T/GT3
  • Subaru BRZ
  • Subaru WRX
  • Toyota GR86
  • Toyota GR Corolla
  • Toyota GR Supra
  • Volkswagen Golf GTI/Golf R
  • Volkswagen Jetta GLI

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

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