BMW Not Chasing Nine-Speed Transmissions

Unlike other luxury automakers, BMW doesn’t plan to chase nine-speed transmissions.

According to Klaus Frolich, BMW’s head of small and midsize cars, the German automaker will maintain its current gearbox lineup: an eight-speed automatic, seven-speed dual-clutch and six-speed manual. Other automakers, such as Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover are adding nine- and even ten-speed transmissions to their lineup.

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But BMW isn’t sold on the idea that nine-speed transmissions offer a noticeable difference over the current eight-speed transmissions. Frolich told AutoExpress that nine-speed transmissions are good for marketing, but are not only complex to make, but the company hasn’t found much in efficiency gains.

Chrysler is still struggling to properly tune the new Jeep Cherokee’s nine-speed automatic, which is also used in the 2015 Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan. Jeep delayed launching the Cherokee last year by two months to tweak the transmission.

Most importantly, BMW has no intentions of removing the manual transmission from its lineup, especially not from the M models. So much so in fact, that Frolich said BMW will continue offering manuals even if only ten percent of its customers buy them.

GALLERY: 2014 BMW M 235i

[Source: Auto Express]

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