Mercedes-Benz Will Bring Back Physical Buttons in Its Cars
Mercedes-Benz plans to bring back some physical buttons to the interiors of its cars. The company’s CEO, Ola Källenius, acknowledged that the automotive industry has become overly focused on digital solutions and touchscreen controls, which has compromised driver convenience.
In recent years, automakers have been actively replacing physical buttons with large touchscreen displays, moving most functions to the multimedia system.
Mercedes-Benz has also been one of the leaders in this trend, installing large screens in its models.
However, the company’s CEO, Ola Källenius, acknowledged that this approach was not always justified.
“The automotive industry as a whole may have gone a bit too far” in the direction of digital controls, he said.
According to the Mercedes-Benz executive, the company is already working to bring back the most essential physical controls.
The first changes are already evident in the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, which features a physical volume control on the steering wheel instead of a touch-sensitive slider.
Kallenius explained that the manufacturer drew conclusions based on customer feedback.
“Sometimes you’re a little ahead of your time and create technology for technology’s sake, and then you might forget about the customer a bit. That’s why, from now on, you’ll see that we’re bringing back the most sensible and necessary buttons,” he emphasized.
Other major automakers have taken a similar approach. Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Porsche are also gradually bringing back physical buttons and switches, moving away from fully digitalizing the interior.
In addition, the Scout Motors brand has embraced a retro design featuring a large number of traditional buttons and switches, emphasizing ease of use.
Safety experts also support the return of physical controls. In particular, the European New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) has begun to factor in the presence of separate physical controls when evaluating new models.
At the same time, Mercedes-Benz emphasizes that there will be no complete return to the old interiors with a large number of buttons. The company plans to retain only those elements that truly improve ergonomics and driving safety.
At the same time, the automaker continues to actively develop its voice control system, which remains one of the priority areas for the development of modern cars.
This was reported by InsideEVs.
