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Volkswagen to reintroduce physical buttons in its upcoming vehicles, argues it was a mistake to eliminate them
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Volkswagen design chief Andreas Mindt said the company will bring back physical buttons starting with the 2026 ID.2.
“From the ID 2all onwards, we will have physical buttons for the five most important functions – the volume, the heating on each side of the car, the fans and the hazard light – below the screen,” said Mindt. “They will be in every car that we make from now on."
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Mindt said they will never make the same mistake again of not having physical buttons.
“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.”
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The decision comes at a time when the EU New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) is set to introduce a new rule in 2026 that requires cars to have a certain number of physical buttons in order to achieve a 5-star safety rating.
Assessment
The lack of physical buttons in a number of Volkwagen models such as the Tiguan, Passat and Golf have been a major complain for Volkswagen customers. Reintroducing them will make the models more attractive, particularly the family vehicles.