Member of the Board at Volkswagen Group | CEO of Volkswagen Brand | Head of Brand Group Core
Our industry is in the midst of a big transformation – what is crucial now from my point of view: listening carefully to our customers, learning and providing answers to the pressing questions of the time. Today, this is all about stepping up to the next level in electrification and digitalization. Our ambition: to become the most desirable brand for sustainable mobility! In addition to democratizing technology, this means above all: bringing emotions to people and fulfilling the VW customer promise in every aspect. That’s why ▪️ We are stepping up the brand’s electrification; by 2026, we will have launched ten new electric models worldwide, in every relevant segment. ▪️ We are sharpening our portfolio and our design, plus creating a new simplicity in operating our vehicles. For example, we are bringing back the push-button steering wheel! That’s what customers want from VW. ▪️ And we are pushing digitalization not just in our vehicles but in the entire customer journey. Customers in Germany, France and Italy can now complete the entire process of buying a car online – and more markets will follow. However, our dealers are and will remain our foundation and the face of the brand to our customers. I spoke about this today at this year’s Institut für Automobilwirtschaft (IfA) industry summit in Nürtingen. Thanks to Prof. Dr. Stefan Reindl and the entire team for inviting me to this insightful event! One thing is clear: We are continually working on offering our customers what they really want. #Volkswagen will be the love brand once more! 💙 ID. Buzz Pro - Power consumption in kWh/100 km: combined 18.9 (NEDC); combined 21.7–20.6 (WLTP); CO₂ emissions combined in g/km: 0; efficiency class: A+++ ID.5 GTX - Power consumption in kWh/100 km: 17,1 (NEFZ), CO₂ emissions combined in g/km: 0; efficiency class: A+++
Suggest bringing buttons back everywhere and using proper climate controls.
Great idea! All climate and radio controls, in fact, all driver controls should forever remain 3-dimensional physical buttons and controls with shapes and textures that make them instantly and kinesthetically identifiable without having to look at them, and without the need to think. It’s simply faster and safer this way. Imagine if you had to search through a menu for your blinker. It wouldn't make sense, would it? Well, the same logic should apply to all the rest of it. This had worked just fine for decades. Manufacturers should have left well enough alone. Automobiles are not tablets on wheels, and should never be designed as such! Remember the old slogan? “Drivers Wanted.” Bring back the driver’s car, and drop the software engineer’s car.
Two words. Volume Knob!
Now, can we have back individual window controls rather than the silly capacitive "rear" button. And a real volume knob. And proper buttons for temperature and things like heated seats.
Awesome news. I promise I'm not being obtuse by asking this, only blunt: how could a feature seen as instantly unlikeable by drivers be such a blind spot / dead end for people inside the auto industry? Who is ultimately accountable & will your design + focus group process need to change?
when are we going to see the first pure electric car from VW, engineered as BEV, not like ICE converted ones like the ID3-4?
I drive mostly holding the wheel at 6 o'clock position. I'm always turning something on or off inadvertently if I hold the wheel how it supposed to be held. (Tiguan R 2022). VW, let's fix that, and the touch climate controls as well, can't use them with gloves. Who was the genius behind that?
This is great news. Please add back physical buttons for climate control.
HMI and embedded systems at Unity Technologies
1yAwesome! Let’s also bring back physical climate controls. They worked great in ~2018 models but have now been replaced with touch sliders that aren’t backlit so you can’t see them in the dark. They’re also hard to operate without getting distracted while driving while the knobs can just be felt with the eyes on the road. Oh. And rear window switches. Why use a touch field to toggle front and rear just so we have to look at the status LED like in the ID.4 if in a golf you can just roll down the rear windows without getting distracted?