The article misses another reason why demand for EVs might drive demand for ICEVs with manual transmissions: if you're going to convert an ICEV into an EV, it's

The article misses another reason why demand for EVs might drive demand for ICEVs with manual transmissions: if you're going to convert an ICEV into an EV, it's typically easier to do so with a manual transmission (in which case you can leave the gearbox as-is and just always drive in e.g. 2nd) than with an automatic transmission (in which case you have to either remove/replace the transmission entirely or somehow convince it to not try shifting based on the "engine's" RPM). Newer cars also have a lot more "smarts" in their drivetrains that would probably interfere with an EV conversion, and I'd be unsurprised if buying manual instead of automatic mitigates that somewhat. Whether people are actually buying new ICEVs and converting them into EVs is doubtful, but if they are, then that would readily explain the uptick in manual purchases.