Volkswagen to ditch touch panels, will bring back push buttons on steering wheel

Volkswagen is gearing up to bring back the push buttons on the steering wheels of its cars, ditching the more stylish and premium touch-sensitive panels. Thomas Schafer, the CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, has hinted at this move in his LinkedIn post. Interestingly, this comes at a time when the German automaker has been receiving heavy criticism for installing touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheels in some latest vehicles. It seems the automaker has listened to the customers' grievances and promised to fix the issue by ditching the touch-sensitive controls in favour of the conventional push buttons.

Schafer has said in his social post that Volkswagen is reshaping its portfolio and design as well. It is also creating simplicity in vehicle operations, claims the Volkswagen CEO. "We are sharpening our portfolio and our design, plus creating a new simplicity in operating our vehicles. For example, we are bringing back the push-button steering wheel! That's what customers want from VW," he added.

As Schafer has indicated, the facelifted Volkswagen Golf will be the first car to get rid of the touch panel, and it is expected to launch in 2023. In September 2022, a Volkswagen prototype was spotted featuring a massive touchscreen infotainment system with traditional steering wheel controls. The German auto major claims many owners would argue that putting old-school control buttons back can solve half the car's interior problems.

Interestingly, it has been found in a study that many consumers seek push control buttons instead of shiny and sleeker touch panels. According to them, finding the different push buttons for different functionalities is easier than operating touch panels for the same purpose.

While Volkswagen Golf would be the first car to ditch the touch panels and adopt the conventional push buttons, other automobile brands under the Volkswagen umbrella, including Skoda, Seat etc., would follow the same path. However, Volkswagen CEO has not confirmed anything about this. On the other hand, the premium car brands under the same group, such as Audi and Porsche, would continue with the touch panels instead of the push control buttons.