Euro NCAP will award car brands that do not have physical buttons in their cars minus points, the testing organization now says.
Cars with very few – and those without – physical buttons may soon be a thing of the past. In any case, Euro NCAP from 2026 will give this type of car minus points.
That's what We Bilägers write.
Boosted has also previously referred to Euro NCAP's raised index finger towards the car brands, which in recent years have almost gone into a frenzy over gathering all functions in one large screen.
It is a cheaper way to make the cars. But numerous studies have shown that it steals the drivers' attention when they have to keep an eye on both the traffic and the car's screen.
So now saving the cars' most important functions in the screen must trigger minus points.
It is especially the turn signals, the hazard warning lights and wipers, the horn and all SOS functions, such as the EU's mandatory eCall function, that Euro NCAP will penalize the car brands for not having turned into functions with physical buttons.
– Touchscreens have become an industry-wide problem, with almost all car manufacturers moving some controls to central touchscreens, forcing drivers to take their eyes off the road, increasing the risk of accidents due to inattention in traffic.
– From 2026, new Euro NCAP tests will therefore encourage car manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive way to promote safer driving, says Matthew Avery, Euro NCAP's director of strategic development.
BMW is already at the forefront of this development. In any case, the director of the German brand has predicted that the very large screens, which include found in Tesla today, in the future will probably be banned. Read more about it here .