2019 VW Golf R Won’t Be Offered With a Manual Transmission in Some Markets

Manual transmission take rate is still around 50 percent in the United States.

byRahul Raman|
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Volkswagen Golf R enthusiasts living in the United Kingdom, I have some bad news for you: Volkswagen will drop the availability of a manual transmission from its portfolio starting in 2019. The decision was made due to the low demand for the three-pedal option.

The Drive learned of this important change to its U.K. Golf R models through a Volkswagen of America spokesperson, who confirmed the change via email and also mentioned that U.S.-bound Golf Rs will still offer the old-school transmission. In fact, he confirmed that demand for manuals was still at healthy levels in the United States.

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"We sell about 50 percent of Golf Rs with manual transmissions here in the U.S. - it is a higher percentage than GTI," said VW spokesperson Mark Gillies.

While this announcement might calm down many Golf R enthusiasts in the U.S., we are not sure if the manual transmission will once again be offered as an option in the upcoming Mk VIII Golf R models, and VW did not comment on the matter. However, VW-owned Audi recently announced that starting in 2019, it will be removing the manual transmission option from the A4 sedan and the A5 coupe—which means there won't be a single Audi model available with a manual transmission in the United States.

If the trend of axing the manual transmission in cars manufactured by the Volkswagen Group continues, the row-it-yourself gearbox might soon come to an end. 

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