Volkswagen has vowed to use physical buttons in its cars for the five most important functions – adjusting volume, heating on each side of the car, fa
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Carmakers around the world have been gradually returning to their old strategy of using physical buttons in cars. After almost a decade of a maddening trend of cramming a majority of the car’s functions into a touchscreen, the automakers have found this an inferior solution to having dedicated physical control buttons for key tasks. This comeback has been fuelled by the consumer complaints about the touchscreens, how destructive and dangerous they can be. Volkswagen, being one of the leading global carmakers, is no different and planning to bring back physical buttons to its future cars.
The German auto major went with the flow of using touchscreens in its cars. However, lately, it has joined the bandwagon of auto manufacturers to switch back to physical buttons. Volkswagen’s design chief Andreas Mindt has told the British automotive publication Autocar UK that the approach of cramming the majority functions into a touchscreen was a mistake and the OEM is backtracking on this trend.
Mindt said that from the Volkswagen ID.2all onwards, the auto company will have physical buttons for the five most important functions, which are adjusting volume, heating on each side of the car, fans, and the hazard light below the screen. He added, “They will be in every car that we make from now on. We will never, ever make this mistake anymore. On the steering wheel, we will have physical buttons. No guessing anymore. There’s feedback, it’s real, and people love this. Honestly, it’s a car. It’s not a phone.”
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This move comes as the cars are required to comply with the new Euro NCAP norms that mandate physical buttons for the abovementioned five functions. This will define the safety ratings starting in 2026. If a car doesn’t have physical controls for the horn, windshield wipers, turn signals, hazard lights and SOS functions, it won’t be able to achieve the maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests starting next year.
Volkswagen faced steep criticism for using touchscreens in its cars for various vehicular functions. Also, the OEM made user experience even worse for the drivers by placing haptic panels on the steering wheel instead of buttons. These can activate different functions without the driver’s intention, if they accidentally touch them. Also, these haptic controls may not always respond as expected when the driver wants to touch them.
Manufacturing costs have been a huge driver of this trend. Car manufacturers know they have to put a big touchscreen in a modern car to attract customers, anyway. It comes easier and cheaper to put all of the controls in that one screen, rather than sourcing and fitting a wide range of physical control buttons. Tesla started this trend with the original Model S and its gigantic screen that made everything look old-schooled. However, despite the initial popularity, the automakers have started facing criticism from consumers for using touchscreens.
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First Published Date: 09 Mar 2025, 15:34 PM IST
