Mercedes-Benz will reintroduce some control buttons inside its future vehicles

The last decade has been characterized by two design trends in the automotive sector: the installation of large tablet-style screens in the center of the dashboard, and the progressive elimination of more and more buttons, even those most commonly used, such as those for the vehicle’s climate control. These two trends are closely linked, since neither would make sense without the other.

European manufacturers were not left out of this fashion, probably to project an image of modernity, and some, such as Volkswagen have recently ended up backtracking. The Wolfsburg-based firm is not, however, the only one.

Over the past few years, Mercedes-Benz has chosen to introduce large screens, especially in its electric models, also eliminating all control buttons from the dashboard. A trend that the brand’s own CEO, Ola Källenius, has now just called into question.

“We went too far”

In an interview with the media, Källenius recently stated that, in his opinion, the industry as a whole may have overdone it a little with its commitment to digital controls. That is why the Stuttgart-based firm has already been working for some time on the idea of bringing back some essential buttons. The new CLA, for example, features a physical volume knob on the steering wheel instead of the touch slider. The head of Mercedes-Benz has made clear the line the brand will follow from now on in one sentence: “sometimes we move forward too much out of pure technological zeal and forget the customer. That is why, from now on, we will reintroduce some of the most necessary buttons.”

Some other manufacturers, such as the aforementioned Volkswagen, Hyundai or Porsche, are also changing course in the same direction, moving away from excess screens and bringing back manual controls. There are also some other extreme cases, such as Scout Motors, which builds its entire brand identity around a retro style with interiors full of buttons and switches within easy reach.

The return of some essential buttons to the dashboards of new vehicles is, likewise, a trend backed by road safety advocates. For example, evaluation programs such as the European NCAP will penalize manufacturers that eliminate certain essential physical controls.

That said, it must be made clear that this does not mean the new vehicles reaching the market in the coming years will be like those of the 1990s or the early part of this century. Touch screens are here to stay, but some essential buttons will become much more common. More and more manufacturers are reaching the conclusion that having to navigate through several menus to find a function that used to be activated with a simple switch may not have been the right decision.