Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius thinks the automotive industry hasn't reached peak screen yet, and the company may add more displays to its cars. The modern Mercedes-Benz likes screens, as anyone who has taken a look at the optional "Hyperscreen" in the new C-Class EV will know that the long-time arbiters of automotive taste are now happy to offer as much screen as a consumer could want.
While speaking to outlets including the United Kingdom's Auto Express recently, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius commented on the evolution of the brand's increasingly digital-forward cabins by saying that he "[doesn't] think we're at maximum screen, but we are at low buttons." Autocar quoted the exchange slightly differently, citing Källenius saying that he doesn't think the automotive industry has hit "peak screen" just yet.
View Price on AmazonEither way, the message seems clear: Mercedes doesn't plan to keep ditching buttons and other physical controls in its cabins, but it also is not stopping the Great Screen Size Race any time soon. That might be bad news for the sort of consumer hoping for a return of full-length wood trim dashboards and dim cabins unbothered by the brightness of what is often, effectively, a massive screensaver, but it does at least provide some hope for those of us who could not stand the capacitive touch controls scattered over the Mercedes steering wheels of the early 2020s.
What is unclear is where, exactly, Mercedes could actually put more displays. The carmaker's Hyperscreen-branded displays, like the optional one on the new C-Class or the similarly massive system offered on the EQS EV since its inception, already take up every bit of dashboard available. Even the smaller "Superscreen" setup in cars like the new CLA-Class take advantage of most of the cabin's potential screen real estate.
Does that mean the German luxury brand is interested in new frontiers, like screens embedded in door cards, center consoles, or roof liners? Only time will tell, I suppose.
Source: roadandtrack.com
