BMW Says Young People Are the Reason It Abandoned Buttons in Its Cars
- BMW’s move away from physical switchgear and toward screen dependence stems from younger buyers’ preference, according to one executive.
- Vikram Pawah, the CEO of BMW Group Australia, told CarExpert that buyers under 45 prefer touchscreens and voice commands to physical controls.
- The brand has been abandoning real buttons in recent generations, with the new Neue Klasse platform taking the script the furthest.
Step into the BMW iX3, and you’ll notice something is missing: real buttons. The climate controls are fettered to the center screen, as is nearly every other feature, save for a handful located in the center console—at least the window switches are still on the doors. BMW isn’t the only brand to increase its reliance on screens, but the arrival of the brand’s Neue Klasse platform heralds its most screen-dependent models yet.
But don’t blame a desire for larger profit margins; BMW’s move away from physical switchgear and toward touchscreen dependence is the fault of younger buyers, according to one executive. In an interview with CarExpert, Vikram Pawah, the CEO of BMW Group Australia, said that young buyers prefer the newer controls.
“We can see that voice and touch are becoming more and more common,” Pawah told the outlet. “Maybe it’s a generational thing as well. You would see that a lot of the younger generation, maybe 45 or below, they’re tapped into these technologies at a faster pace, using voice, using touch.”
According to the executive, younger customers are less patient with their technology. “They want things done quickly, and they’re multitasking,” Pawah said. “And we have to keep that in mind. That’s how customers are evolving. They are multitasking.”
Ignore the obvious hazards of distracted driving that are alluded to in the executive’s comment, and there’s a growing trend at play. Tesla has always forced functions to its center screen; newer players such as Rivian do the same. And in recent years, established brands like Mazda and Mercedes-Benz have moved more and more functions to touchscreens.
“I think you need to understand why that change is happening, and once you understand that it’s easier to comprehend what will happen in the future as well,” Pawah said. “A car is not a stand-alone piece. It’s part of what’s happening around you in society.”
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Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.