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A lot of the decreased demand is due to leasing. As fewer buyers intend to keep the car for its life, the lessors take resale value into consideration.

For owners who intend to keep a vehicle for its usable life, there's a slight uptick in cars sold with a manual transmissions. The number of automatics in smaller cars was increasing due to the fuel economy standards but manufacturers such as Volkswagen got caught gaming the software so that the engine had more power and efficiency when driving (but more polluting) and then ran clean when it recognized it was being tested (high rpms while in neutral). Since such manufacturers have been called out and had to remove the software, their cars don't perform as well and the direct power and better fuel economy of the manual transmission wins.

Manufacturers can lower the cost of the car if they can remove the expensive computer controlled transmission.

While some modern transmissions use a clutch with a computer controlled shift in an attempt to gain the power and efficiency of a manual transmission, they're costly and plagued with problems. There are lawsuits from owners having transmission problems so bad that they had to get rid of the car. They have nightmare stories of it bucking out of nowhere or going into the "wrong" gear in a dangerous situation.

While the "computer controlled manual" may be more fuel efficient than some drivers, the computer decision making is sub par when it comes to applying power as the driver needs it. The computer can't see ahead and know that what may be fuel inefficient at this moment such as using the clutch to slow down the car (letting off the accelerator which increases rpms as the engine "brakes") will be rectified in seconds when the car in front changes lanes. This happens when turning most corners; the computer doesn't use the clutch as an engine brake whereas the driver may want exactly that before accelerating coming out of the turn.

The "computer controlled manual" trans may lead to a resurgence in the manual trans itself. Up until now an "auto/stick" was based on an automatic transmission with manual control of the gear shifting such as the Hurst Dual Gate or Lightning Rods (three lever) shifters. Fiat offers an automatic transmission with manual control of the gears in their U.S. models. If the "computer controlled manual" is enhanced with the option of shutting off the computer and driving it manually, drivers may realize that they have more power and control when they need it (such as entering traffic from a rabbit start) and as they use it more and more they may ask "why pay the costs of owning and maintaining the computer?"