Do EVs need to simulate gear shifts? BMW and Hyundai think so

• Hyundai and BMW think consumers want EVs to simulate shift points
• Hyundai already sells the Ioniq 5 N, which is a sporty EV featuring fake shift points
• BMW’s now working on simulating gearshifts for its future EVs

The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N brought simulated gear shifts to a production EV. Now it appears BMW is working on something similar.

In an interview with Top Gear (via BMW Blog), Frank van Meel, the boss of BMW’s M performance division, said he liked Hyundai’s approach, adding that BMW is also working on simulated gearshifts. Most EVs lack multi-speed transmissions, but simulating them in a performance car could be useful for providing feedback to the driver, van Meel suggested.

“In a pure EV with one gear, no sound and no emotion, you don’t know if you’re doing 125, 150, or whatever,” van Meel told Top Gear. “You need a solution for that.” He…