The automatics and CVTs in cheap cars sold in EU and worldwide markets are trash and more expensive, so no one wants them. It’s why manual is more popular in those cars.
currently the cheapest car one can get with the cheapest trim package in the US is a little manual (Nissan Versa S). it’s the last of the gas sipping manuals here, and apparently it’s like pulling teeth to get the dealership to actually sell one, because they try to upsell to the autos/CVTs, which are all junk. all the other manuals are “performance” models for people to crash into each other with at car meets.
