nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backDespite consistent reports that basically every automaker in existence is moving further away from manual transmissions, Nissan has offered a nugget of hope. The brand has suggested that demand for the formerly standard transmission type was slowly coming back.News comes by way of Australia's Car Expert, which spoke to the head of Nissan's performance division during an announcement that the company would be building a new facility in Melbourne that's slated to open by the end of 2026."Customer demand for the three-pedal is coming back," stated Nismo CEO Yutaka Sanada (pictured below).nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backAs part of the forthcoming Nismo Performance Centres, Nissan wants to get the Australian market excited about upcoming vehicles. The automaker has recently managed to improve its share price and looks poised to make some big moves in terms of its mainstay products. Meanwhile, the more niche Nismo wants to broaden its appeal by doubling its preexisting lineup and building more than just track tuned vehicles.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor example, Nissan wants to make the next Skyline sedan more widely available around the world. While the model will place a strong emphasis on sporty driving, likely positioning itself above the base-trim Nissan Z, there will still be the more hardcore GT-R (and its subsequent Nismo) variants.But Nismo has been preparing to dive into the realm of off-road vehicles. This is hardly surprising, as mainstream buyers have started to move away from traditional sports cars. Economic conditions have been largely unfavorable for performance models and the industry itself has realized that companies can make more money by selling trucks and utility vehicles that already fetch higher margins.nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backThe consumer psychology here is that today's cash-strapped buyers cannot rationalize a smaller, quick vehicle designed to be nimble on pavement. But they might be able to trick themselves into thinking it's wise to spend even more money on a go-anywhere utility vehicle with loads of space. Because you never know what the future might hold or if you'll need to be overlanding to survive.That's slightly hyperbolic. All that matters is that the average household knows that a pickup truck is more broadly useful than a sports coupe and likely to spend extra money on the former.AdvertisementAdvertisementMuch like Toyota Racing Development (TRD), Nismo will continue shifting its energy toward catering to factory modified trucks and developing aftermarket parts for off-road vehicles. However, traditional sports cars will remain an important part of the Nismo recipe. But this presumes they remain sufficiently profitable - which brings us back to Nissan's manual transmissions.nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backSanada explained that Nismo needs to be many things to many people and listen to enthusiasts, which includes drivers who would like to have access to a clutch pedal. But it all still has to be balanced with demand and coincide with mainstream models, as Nismo tunes are still heavily dependent on what goes into the base model."Nismo tune is not about just a three-pedal car, [or] two pedal motor cars in a very unique tune ... so maybe both," said the CEO.From Car Expert:Sanada-san also said Nismo models aren't about whether they are manual or otherwise, but are about the total package regardless. He emphasised the company would use its professional racing drivers more to develop road-going Nismo models."Nismo dedicated development driver group … this team is having the experience on the track, so not just seeking for the horsepower or torque, [but also] how [the] customer can feel acceleration or good cornering," he said.Currently, Nismo models sold overseas - including the Note Aura, X-Trail SUV and Patrol, none of which are offered here in Nismo guise - are automatic-only, apart from the Nismo Z coupe.AdvertisementAdvertisementIn Australia, the latest Nissan Z Nismo was launched solely with a nine-speed automatic, but a manual version is now on the way due to customer demand.nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backHere in North America, manual options from Nissan include the Z cars and holdover versions of the base-trimmed Versa hatchback. Nismo doesn't presently offer anything with a stick shift in our neck of the woods. But we are, like Australia, supposed to get the Nismo Z with a manual option starting in 2027.Considering that Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Mazda, Porsche, and Subaru all still offer manual options on a handful of performance models, there's obviously enough customer demand to keep a few be-clutched vehicles on sale. But they're still oddities on the road.It's assumed that the next Nissan Skyline (which may end up being badged as an Infiniti model) will come with a manual option. However, we have no idea if Nissan plans to give it the Nismo treatment or thinks there will be sufficient takers of a three-pedal variant on our particular market.nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backMeanwhile, the GT-R will allegedly persist as a standalone performance model after having been separated from the Skyline since the R35 debuted almost twenty years ago. This puts its chances of boasting a manual transmission in question.AdvertisementAdvertisementAs both a grand tourer and racing vehicle (GT-R stands for "Gran Turismo–Racing") there's a sense it could lean into the former category and try to bend toward driving enjoyment - perhaps employing a stick shift to appease some customers. But the history of the car has always been about embarrassing supercars and eking out every shred of performance to maximize the spec sheet. That's assured to remain the case, making any manual versions of the GT-R extremely unlikely.nissan tells aussies manuals are coming backThis begs the question of which models would even make sense for Nissan to bother issuing a manual transmission. Considering the current competition, a Nismo Sentra SE-R seems like the perfect fit. But the current Sentra uses a CVT and it seems unlikely that Nissan would bother developing a manual option of the sedan unless the next generation sees some massive changes.That just leaves us with a gaggle of upcoming crossover vehicles that would make even less sense to sell with a stick shift. Nissan also wants to delve further into hybridization, simultaneously boosting efficiency and performance. However, the only hybrid automobiles your author can actually recall with manual transmissions were Honda products that were discontinued over a decade ago.As much as we like what Nismo is saying about manual gearboxes, it's admittedly hard to envision a scenario where they exist outside of a few highly specific cases. We're not expecting to see many new models featuring a clutch pedal. But at least those new Nismo Performance Centers will be willing to service the older vehicles that do as the company strives to make its performance division globally relevant.nissan tells aussies manuals are coming back[Images: Nissan]AdvertisementAdvertisementBecome a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.