Over the last five years, carmakers have gradually started phasing out the manual transmission from their models. While Mercedes offered manual transmissions for nearly half of its model lineup until 2021, a new 2023 automatic-only strategy will make Mercedes one of the first automotive manufacturers to completely retire the manual transmission. That's right, folks. Mercedes will join the automatic-only movement in 2023, according to a recent statement by company officials.

A Mercedes spokesperson stated that the changeover to automatic-only is model specific. This means that all models that are still being manufactured and offer a manual transmission will continue to do so until they are discontinued. It is worth noting that at this point in time, Mercedes, like other manufacturers, is offering a manual transmission only for the base versions of its more compact models.

This is gradually changing with the next generation of each respective model as they hit the market. A good example would be the W205-generation of the C-Class, where the base versions could still be had with a manual transmission. The 2022 W206 C-Class does away with the manual transmission entirely, leaving the 9G-Tronic automatic as the only available option.

The Mercedes spokesperson explained that "With increasing electrification, we see that customer demand is shifting towards electric mobility components, batteries, and (partially) electric drive systems". Currently, the A, B, and CLA-Class are the only Mercedes models still available with a manual (in their base versions), but those have been around since 2018 and are due to be discontinued by next year, with their respective successors lacking a third pedal across their entire model range.