Although it is difficult to imagine new cars without some of the solutions offered by modern automotive displays, car manufacturers have nevertheless shown that the boundaries of good taste are elusive.
In recent years, huge screens, packed with all sorts of information and functions, have practically swallowed up the cabins of our cars. Manufacturers initially embraced minimalism and the removal of physical buttons with open arms, as they reduced production costs, but the strategy quickly began to backfire. More and more drivers are avoiding digital interfaces, and safety experts warn that constantly browsing menus while driving is a major distraction, which can be fatal at critical moments.
In Europe, the debate over touchscreens ended in January 2026 with new Euro NCAP protocols. To earn the prestigious five-star safety rating, a car must have physical switches for key functions: indicators, wipers, hazard warning lights, horn and emergency call. Although the rules are not legally binding, they have a huge commercial impact; few manufacturers dare to risk a lower test score, knowing that every second the driver takes their eyes off the road drastically increases the risk of an accident.
China, considered the most technologically-oriented automotive market in the world, is now following the European example. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has proposed a regulation that will require turn signals, gearshifts and emergency calls to be controlled via tactile switches with a minimum area of 10 × 10 millimeters. This move is particularly surprising, as Chinese brands have been the most aggressive in copying Tesla’s buttonless cabin model, and are now once again prioritizing usability and safety.
The new rules are already having a major impact on the industry. Volkswagen has admitted that full digitization was a “mistake” and is reintroducing physical buttons to its new models, while Hyundai and Mercedes are following suit. Even Tesla, which pioneered buttonless interiors, has relented and brought back classic steering wheel-mounted turn signals to certain models, such as the updated Model 3 and Model Y. After years of racing for bigger screens, the automotive world seems to have rediscovered an old truth: for many functions, physical switches are still the most intuitive and, above all, safe solution.
