If people like manual gearboxes, why don't they buy them? BMW offers like 3 or 4 models with manual as an option, with the uptake rate between 15-65%, with the rate dropping the higher the performance of the car.
I fully agree that BMW has invested a lot in EVs and they have actually proven all the neysayers who claimed Tesla was going to replace them wrong.
What I don't agree with is this struggle to postpone the inevitable just because it means that their investments in ICE are going to become almost worthless, and thus will hit their balances. A CEO saying something should always be taken within context of who the intended audience is. And here I think the audience is the ICE-or-die crowd, and anyone looking at BMWs financial health from a view of the burden of old investments into what's about to become "legacy tech".
Full disclosure: I drive a manual BMW with a V8. I love it. I don't think they've ever made another as good as that one. So why keep trying? ;)