Mercedes CEO: In-Car Screens Will Keep Growing, But the Decline of Physical Buttons Will Stop

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius stated that although in-car center console screens may continue to grow in size, the automotive industry’s trend of excessively eliminating physical buttons has nearly reached its limit. In recent years, Mercedes-Benz has replaced traditional physical controls with large touchscreens across multiple models, with some vehicles featuring the MBUX Hyperscreen—a triple-screen system spanning over 1.4 meters in width. However, as more functions have been integrated into touch interfaces, user complaints about operational complexity have grown. Källenius noted that the company has already begun reintroducing physical buttons in areas like the steering wheel and emphasized that user experience should take precedence over technological over-engineering. He acknowledged that the industry may have “gone too far” with digital controls and highlighted Mercedes-Benz’s ongoing efforts to refine its voice control system. When asked whether the number of screens had peaked, Källenius replied that he wasn’t sure if screen size had reached its limit—but the reduction of physical buttons had “definitely hit rock bottom.”