Mercedes will bring back physical buttons in current models and keep them for future cars
Mercedes-Benz has decided to return more of the familiar physical keys to its cars. As the head of the company's software division Magnus Östberg told Autocar in an interview, according to statistics, buttons are more convenient for many customers than fully touch control.
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The new GLC and the electric CLA Shooting Brake will be the first to receive the innovation - both of them will have a steering wheel with swings, rollers and buttons. Such steering wheel will become a standard for all future models of the brand, and later it will be put on already produced models, starting with the recently presented CLA. According to Estberg, this is the easiest and most affordable way to bring back physical controls without abandoning Mercedes' digital interior concept.
The steering wheel of the new Mercedes-Benz CLA 250+ Shooting Brake with EQ Technology. Photo: Mercedes-Benz
The company is betting on "software-defined vehicles" (English "software-defined vehicles", abbreviated SDV), which allow the collection of data on the use of systems. It is the statistics that showed that drivers more often choose some functions with the help of buttons and rollers. At the same time, preferences differ depending on the region: if in Europe they like buttons, in Asia they rely more on sensors and voice control.
In the future, Mercedes plans to expand the zone of "return of buttons" to other elements of the interior, primarily in crossovers and SUVs - there is more space for layout, and buyers more often appreciate tactile control.
It is noteworthy that in parallel, the GLC received the largest screen in the history of the brand - MBUX Hyperscreen with a diagonal of 39.1 inches, which occupies the entire width of the front panel. According to Mercedes chief designer Gordon Wagener, the screens are unlikely to become bigger.
Source: Autocar
