Is the era of large car screens over? New regulations from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Physical buttons are mandatory.

The "big screen craze" in new energy vehicles has finally been halted! A new regulation from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has set a hard rule for automotive interior design: starting July 1, 2026, key functions such as turn signals, gear shifting, and emergency calls must be equipped with physical buttons; pure screen operation is completely out of the question! This move not only wakes up car companies obsessed with "technological sophistication" but also makes driving safety the core of interior design once again. The era of physical buttons has truly returned!

Who remembers that, starting with Tesla's screen-based gear shifting, new energy vehicle companies have fallen into a vicious cycle of "de-physicalization" and showy technology? In pursuit of minimalist interiors, many brands cram lights, wipers, and even P/R/N/D gear selectors into a large central screen, which has become their "traffic code." Xiaomi, Jike, and XPeng, among others, followed suit, and touch panels and virtual buttons became synonymous with "high-end," but they caused immense frustration for drivers: adjusting the windshield wipers required looking down to tap the screen, changing lanes or activating turn signals involved searching for touch buttons, and emergencies resulted in frantic maneuvering. The "technological feel" of touchscreens ultimately lost out to the "safety" of actual driving.

Even more absurdly, some car manufacturers sacrificed basic operating logic for aesthetics. Touch buttons lacked tactile feedback, relying entirely on visual inspection to determine if a button was pressed correctly; the gear shift screen was hidden deep, leading to accidental operation for novice drivers. This practice of sacrificing safety for design has long been criticized by car owners, and the new regulations precisely address the design chaos in the new energy vehicle market—the essence of technology is to empower, not create chaos. The newly revised "Marking of Motor Vehicle Controls, Indicators and Signaling Devices" adds requirements for the equipment and technology of physical controls. "If they have the corresponding functions, they should be equipped with physical controls for turning on/off turn signals, hazard warning lights, horn, reverse gear, neutral gear, drive gear, park gear, windshield wipers, windshield defroster, emergency accident call system (AECS), electric vehicle drive system power cut-off, window operation, main light control, high beam headlights, low beam headlights, front and rear position lights, rear fog lights, combined driving assistance system activation, and auxiliary braking device control." In other words, turn signals, hazard lights, reverse gear, drive gear, park gear, windshield wipers, window operation, and intelligent driving assistance activation switches must all be equipped with physical controls. Of course, the new national standard doesn't prohibit the continued use of screen-based gear shifting. Automakers can still equip their vehicles with two systems simultaneously: one with physical controls and the other with screen-based gear shifting, allowing drivers to choose. However, whether it's necessary to retain both operating systems in the future will depend on market demand. Furthermore, the new standard also specifies requirements for the position and size of physical controls: "They should not be solely located on the display screen; their positions should be fixed, and the effective operating dimensions of each control should be no less than 10mm × 10mm, or the driver should be able to determine the position of each control through touch (such as surface differences, gaps, protrusions, etc.), and there should be at least tactile or auditory feedback during operation."

Industry analysts believe that the purpose of these requirements is to ensure that drivers can perform blind operation through touch and muscle memory without shifting their gaze, keeping their eyes on the road and thus ensuring driving safety. Interestingly, the refreshed Model 3/Y in 2025 has reintroduced the turn signal stalk, and some models offer dual protection for gear shifting through both screen swiping and overhead touch buttons. In addition to mandatory requirements for vehicle control components, a newly revised national standard, "Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems of Intelligent Connected Vehicles," is also open for public comment. This new standard primarily targets vehicles equipped with L3 and L4 advanced driver assistance technologies. The new standard requires that the safety level of the ADS (automated driving system) in these vehicles should at least reach the level of a qualified and attentive driver. For example, the ADS's driving behavior should not lead to collisions and should avoid collisions with safety-related targets; the ADS should adjust its driving behavior according to safety risks; the ADS should avoid unreasonably disrupting traffic flow and reducing traffic efficiency; the ADS should detect and respond to priority vehicles (e.g., police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and emergency rescue vehicles) and yield to them, and should follow the instructions of traffic police when they are directing traffic on-site. Industry insiders point out that the aforementioned new national standard will help improve the safety and reliability of automated driving systems, prevent and mitigate safety risks at the source, and promote innovation and industrial upgrading of automated driving technology.