The carmaker has confirmed the closure as the latest step in Volkswagen’s winding down of the production of manual transmission-equipped cars because customers favor automatic transmission-equipped vehicles overwhelmingly.

Production of manual transmission cars by the Volkswagen-SAIC joint venture has fallen from 500,000 a year to just 50,000.

“For years, customer demand and, with it, our production and employee numbers have consistently fallen...shareholders came together with the management board and decided to suspend production,” reads a Volkswagen letter to the Shanghai factory’s staff.

About 250 employees are affected and will be offered new jobs within the company.

Locally, the Santana, Volkswagen Philippines’ most affordable offering is offered with a 5-speed manual sourced from that plant.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s joint venture with FAW in the northeastern city of Changchun will continue to produce manual transmission systems, though output there has also fallen in recent years.