2026-08-15

Mercedes-Benz is stepping back from its all-digital dashboard strategy, with CEO Ola Källenius telling Autocar in July 2026 that the automaker plans to bring more physical buttons into its vehicles. The shift marks a departure from years of expanding touchscreen real estate across the brand’s interiors.

Källenius acknowledged that the industry’s push toward touchscreen-heavy cabins may have overlooked what some drivers actually need behind the wheel. Mercedes has not issued a formal announcement detailing the new approach through its official channels, and the company does not appear to be abandoning touchscreens altogether. Future models will likely combine digital displays with physical controls rather than favoring one over the other.

Consumer research backs up the reasoning behind the change. JD Power’s 2025 U.S. Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study found that digital-display problems increased across the industry last year. The same study found that drivers want technology that works intuitively and doesn’t pull their attention away from the road. JD Power’s conclusion pointed to a specific fix: pairing touchscreens with physical buttons improves how usable a vehicle’s controls actually are. For automakers like Mercedes, that finding suggests the years-long race toward bigger screens may have come at the expense of drivers who just want to adjust the temperature without digging through a menu.

How Mercedes got here

Mercedes’ recent interiors show how far the touchscreen trend went. The electric GLA SUV includes the MBUX Superscreen, a three-display setup that spans the width of the dashboard behind a single piece of glass. The design looks closer to a command console than a traditional car interior, and Mercedes has described it as part of a minimalist, technology-driven cabin concept. Other automakers have built similarly expansive infotainment systems in recent years, several of which drew criticism for making basic functions harder to reach while driving.

Other automakers are making the same move

Mercedes isn’t alone in walking back its screen-first approach. Volkswagen reintroduced physical steering wheel buttons in the Golf GTI, Tiguan, and ID.4 after years of relying on touch-sensitive controls that drivers and reviewers criticized for being difficult to use without looking down. Hyundai added physical buttons and knobs to the Santa Cruz and Palisade. Porsche has kept a mix of touchscreens and physical controls throughout its recent lineup rather than following the all-digital trend some competitors adopted.

The pattern points to an industry-wide correction. Automakers spent much of the past decade competing on screen size and digital features, treating touchscreens as a shorthand for modernity. That approach is now colliding with data showing it may have made cars harder, not easier, to operate.

The safety research behind the shift

Research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety adds weight to the argument for physical controls. The organization found that infotainment systems built around touchscreens increase the amount of time drivers spend looking away from the road. Tasks that would take a fraction of a second with a physical button, such as adjusting the volume or changing the fan speed, can require multiple glances at a screen to complete when routed through a touch interface. Even simple, routine actions behind the wheel become a source of distraction when a driver has to visually locate and tap the right spot on a screen rather than reach for a button they can find by feel.

That distinction matters for automakers now facing pressure from both regulators and consumers to prioritize safety alongside design. A touchscreen might look sleek in a showroom, but the AAA Foundation’s findings suggest that appeal can come with a real cost once a vehicle is in motion.

What comes next for Mercedes

Mercedes has not specified which upcoming models will feature the revised control layout or offered a timeline for rolling out the change across its lineup. Källenius’s comments to Autocar suggest the shift will apply broadly rather than to a single vehicle, positioning Mercedes among a growing group of automakers recalibrating how much of the driving experience should live on a screen.

For now, drivers waiting on the change will need to watch for Mercedes’ next generation of interior designs to see how the automaker balances its touchscreen ambitions against the practical case for a physical button.