Overview
- Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius said Sunday that the industry "might have gone a little bit too far" moving many vehicle controls to screens and that Mercedes has already restored some steering-wheel buttons.
- Källenius promised the company will reintroduce “the most sensible buttons” while keeping large digital dashboards in place so screens and physical controls will coexist.
- Other manufacturers including Ferrari, Volkswagen, and Hyundai have made similar moves or statements, with Ferrari’s CEO noting touch controls can be cheaper to produce and therefore became widespread.
- Independent usability work has produced mixed results about distraction, with a recent Swedish test showing a button-heavy Mazda took longer to complete tasks than a touchscreen-heavy Tesla, so safety gains from returning buttons are not guaranteed.
- The shift traces back to Mercedes’ 2021 MBUX Hyperscreen rollout, and the current approach is expected to be gradual and selective, restoring tactile controls for high-use functions while keeping digital interfaces for consolidated features.