Carmakers are adding physical controls back to some cabins, but they are not abandoning touchscreens. And while diesel remains available in some commercial vans, EU passenger-car registrations show no broad revival: diesel’s share fell to 7.3% through August 2026.
Are carmakers bringing back physical buttons?
Some are, for specific tasks—not as a wholesale return to button-heavy dashboards. Volkswagen design chief Andreas Mindt said in March 2025 that future VW models would restore physical controls for five frequently used functions: volume, separate heating controls for the driver and passenger, fan controls, and hazard lights. Volkswagen planned to begin with the production version of the ID 2all concept. These were stated plans, not confirmation that the controls are already fitted to every production model. Autocar reported Mindt’s comments on 6 March 2025.
Mindt’s argument was about feedback and certainty: a driver can feel a real control rather than guess at a touch-sensitive surface. He put it bluntly: “We will never, ever make this mistake any more. On the steering wheel, we will have physical buttons. No guessing any more. There’s feedback, it’s real, and people love this. Honestly, it’s a car. It’s not a phone: it’s a car.” The “people love this” phrase is his characterization, not a cited survey result.
SEAT/Cupra R&D chief Dr Werner Tietz described a similar selective approach across Volkswagen Group brands. He said touchscreens would continue to dominate, with some added buttons and more physical steering-wheel controls; he singled out volume as easier to adjust with a physical control. Auto Express quoted Tietz on 19 March 2025.
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Are touchscreens going away in cars?
No. The plans described by VW and SEAT/Cupra point to a mixed interface: a physical layer for selected frequently used controls and screens for other functions. Mindt specifically said screens would remain for uses such as displaying a reversing-camera image and other interface content. Tietz likewise argued against eliminating touchscreens, saying that abandoning them could be the wrong approach for younger customers.
The change is better understood as a reconsideration of which tasks belong behind a screen, not the end of screens in cars. The two executives’ comments describe company direction and reasoning; they do not establish that every automaker is making the same change, or that physical buttons alone have a quantified safety benefit.
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Is diesel making a comeback?
Not in EU passenger-car registrations. The latest figures available here show diesel’s share continuing to shrink, rather than recovering. ACEA’s data concern new passenger cars registered in the EU, not global sales or commercial vans.
| Period | EU diesel passenger-car registrations | Diesel share of new registrations | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Not stated here | 11.9% | ACEA, annual 2025 report, published 27 January 2026 |
| 2025 | Down 24.2% year over year | 8.9% | ACEA, annual 2025 report, published 27 January 2026 |
| First half of 2026 | Down 16.5% year over year | 7.5%, compared with 9.4% in H1 2025 | ACEA, H1 2026 report, published 23 July 2026 |
| January–August 2026 | Down 18.6% year over year | 7.3%, compared with 9.4% a year earlier | ACEA, August 2026 YTD report, published 24 September 2026 |
The 2024 figure also puts the trajectory in context: battery-electric cars had a 13.6% EU market share that year, above diesel’s 11.9%, according to ACEA’s annual report. These are registration shares, not a measure of what buyers say they prefer.
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Why diesel is still appearing in some vans
Passenger-car decline does not mean diesel has vanished from every vehicle segment. In April 2025, Stellantis announced updated 2.2-litre diesel engines for its UK large-van range: the Citroën Relay, Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, and Vauxhall Movano. Production of the updated models was planned to begin in May 2025, ahead of emissions rules due to take effect in January 2026. Stellantis Media UK announced the update on 9 April 2025.
The same announcement offered a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen on diesel variants in place of the standard 5-inch display, for £400 excluding VAT. That detail illustrates the distinction: this was continued diesel availability in UK commercial vans, not evidence of a passenger-car sales comeback or a reversal of the broader EU registration trend.
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What this shift means when comparing cars
A screen size or a button count alone does not show how a cabin works. When comparing a particular vehicle, check which common tasks have dedicated controls, whether those controls give clear physical feedback, and which functions still require a touchscreen menu. Also distinguish a concept or future plan from controls fitted to a vehicle currently on sale. For powertrains, compare passenger cars with passenger cars and vans with vans, and keep the geography and time period attached to registration figures.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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