Mercedes-Benz latest automaker to trade in touchscreens for buttons

Automakers are slowly transitioning from touchscreens back to buttons, with Mercedes-Benz being one of the latest to announce the change. 

Magnus Ostberg, Mercedes-Benz’s head of software, told Autocar last week that the OEM will begin adding more physical controls into vehicle cabins because “data shows us physical buttons are better.” 

The new GLC and CLA Shooting Brake EVs will be the first to see the change, the article says. 

“Having that balance between physical buttons and the touch is extremely important for us,”  Ostberg told the publication. “We’re completely data-driven…the data shows us the physical buttons are better, and that’s why we put them back in.”

While buttons will be added to a new-design steering wheel, screens will still be found in the cabin. 

A Kelley Blue Book story on the subject points out that Mercedes-Benz is only the latest OEM to announce the change. 

Volkswagen announced in March that it plans to bring back physical buttons. 

“Modern vehicles have increasingly integrated touchscreen controls to streamline design and improve aesthetics,” a Volkswagen blog post says. “However, this shift has not always been well received by drivers, who often find touch-based interfaces cumbersome and distracting while on the road. Many Volkswagen customers voiced concerns over the usability of these controls, particularly when it comes to essential functions like climate control, volume adjustment, and hazard lights.”

The benefits of physical buttons include enhanced safety, improved usability, better accessibility, and increased reliability, the blog says. 

It notes that the physical buttons will be implemented across Volkswagen’s lineup. 

Last year, the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) announced it would require more physical controls and fewer touchscreens during its industry-respected safety tests. 

The standards are set to start in January 2026. Automakers seeking five stars will be required to use a button, stalk, or dial to control critical tasks, such as direction indicators, hazard lights activation honking a horn, window wipers, and SOS functions. 

Kelley Blue Book reports that the transition is not easy for automakers. 

“The shift is more complex than it might sound. Sure, automakers designed cars full of buttons for decades before going all-in on screens,” the article says. “However, going back to their old ways is complicated.”

Sam Abuelsamid, Telemetry’s vice president of market research, recently told The Drive that it can be expensive to equip vehicles with buttons and physical controls. 

“There’s a lot of engineering effort that goes into it—to designing them, to validating all those components,” Abuelsamid told Drive. “And from a manufacturing perspective, it adds a lot of complexity to develop a dashboard or steering wheel that has physical controls on it.”

As vehicles advance with more features, a touchscreen has become a logical step for automakers, he said. 

“But you’ve got to find a balance in there in between those extremes — all touchscreen versus all physical — if you’re going to have so many features in a car,” he said. 

Robby DeGraff, AutoPacific’s product and consumer insights manager, said for some automakers it is easier and cheaper to use a screen than designing a row of toggles and buttons. 

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