Volkswagen CEO Is Standing Up for Physical Buttons in Cars

After years of carmakers ditching physical controls, one CEO is now saying they’re a must-have. Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer told Top Gear recently that the shift away from buttons and toward touchscreens was largely driven by the rise of smartphones. “There was a spirit of iPhone-ish kind of design and utilisation that you could see coming through in many companies,” Schäfer said. “It was a little bit difficult to get the designers off that idea.” Tesla also helped spark this decade-long trend with its iPad-like central infotainment system, an approach much of the industry later embraced but left many consumers frustrated. Volkswagen is reversing course. Schäfer, who was named CEO of the German automaker in 2022, says the company is bringing back more traditional controls. “I said, ‘listen, there’s two things that are absolutely non-negotiable for me: door handles and buttons,’” he told Top Gear. “I don’t understand why anybody would have [touch-sensitive] sliders.” He added that door handles need to be intuitive and easy to use, even when your hands are full of shopping bags. Volkswagen acknowledged criticism of its touchscreen-heavy interiors back in 2023, when it said it would