Manufacturers (smart ones, at least) make what they think they can sell. In North America, the market has pretty clearly turned against manual trannies. (I've had two manual cars; I like them except in stop-and-go traffic. But I'm in the minority.)
Ask a car salesman sometime what he thinks of manual transmission cars (or light trucks). They hate them because they're so hard to sell.
I’m the opposite; I actually like stick better in traffic and my feet feel like they’re cramping up if I’m in traffic with an automatic.
I’m still certain that it’s market manipulation. Same thing happened with carmakers suddenly stopping with station wagons (and even Ford with all of their sedans save the Focus), and now they’re trying to pull a trick again with electric versus internal combustion.