- The company’s Chief Creative Officer is against the trend of dashboards with many screens.
- Massimo Frascella prefers a mix of analog and digital controls.
- Future models will prevent screen overload.
- Audi promises a return to form in terms of interior quality.
Screens have taken over car interiors for several reasons. Cost savings are the most obvious, as it is cheaper for automakers to remove the physical controls and route access to most functions through the infotainment system. However, there is more to it than that. China, the world’s largest auto market, overwhelmingly prefers smartphone-like dashboards. Volkswagen’s boss in China said last year that local buyers want “AI-first, connected vehicles, with seamless voice control and smart cockpits.”
Even if traditional automakers are on a slippery slope in China, it remains a huge market. Ideally, car manufacturers would develop different dashboard layouts depending on regional preferences, but that costs money. Instead, screens have taken over worldwide, even in Europe, where VW is now bringing back buttons after realizing this is what people really want. Better late than never, right?
The situation is similar at VW’s luxury arm, Audi, as Ingolstadt unfortunately also went all-in on screens. Some of the latest models even have an additional display for the front passenger, as seen above on the new A6 Avant. However, the company’s Chief Creative Officer wants to bring back what once made Audi interiors great: high-quality materials and a hint of that so-called “Audi click” that a well-built cabin used to have in previous-generation models.
Speak with Top equipment magazine Massimo Frascella said what most of us are thinking: “Big screens aren’t the best experience. It’s technology for technology’s sake.” The Concept C not only signals an electric sports car, but also a return to form in terms of Audi character inside. It still has a central display, but has been reduced to 10.4 inches and folds into the dashboard, as has been the case with many models of the past decade.
How much of the Concept C’s goodness will trickle down to future Audi production models remains to be seen. However, Frascella gives us hope that the overreliance on screens and the sea of glossy black plastic will be a thing of the past with the next generation of vehicles:
“It’s not about taking things out, but about offering the technology and functionality in a way that is beneficial to the customer. And that is premium. This mix of digital and analogue, the tactility, the quality experience that is so important to Audi, the precision, the metal parts… we are talking about the Audi click. These have made Audi what Audi is.”
This isn’t the first time a high-ranking Audi official has admitted that interiors used to be better. Head of Product and Technology Communication Oscar da Silva Martins told our colleagues at Motor1 Germany in an interview last year that “we have certainly been better in terms of quality in the past, but we will get there again.”
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Source: Audi
While Audi promises to distance itself from today’s screen bonanza, Mercedes sees things differently. Outgoing design chief Gorden Wagener claims “we want to have a visual reference on the screen, or maybe you want to watch a movie and things like that. So yes, you need big screens.” He even went so far as to joke about Audi and its Concept C, saying that the “interior looks like it was designed in 1995. It’s a bit too familiar and there’s not enough technology.”
Audi declined to comment, choosing instead to focus on how it will shape the models of tomorrow. The Concept C, expected to be launched in 2027, will herald a new era. Meanwhile, the next-generation Q7 and the first-ever Q9 will stick closer to the current formula when the SUVs arrive later this year. Massimo Frascella was appointed Chief Creative Officer in June 2024, so his influence on new models will only really be felt when the electric sports car lands next year.
Taking Motor1s: Frascella gets it. Most of us don’t have a problem with screens per se. However, an interior becomes overwhelming and distracting when the dashboard turns into an almost pillar-to-pillar display. Adding screens also makes cabins look cheap, which is especially problematic in the luxury segment, where buyers expect higher material quality.
Although Audi seems to be heading in the right direction, one wonders whether nicer interiors will make cars even more expensive. It is logical to assume that adding buttons and improving fit and finish will add value. On the other hand, Audi needs to further distance itself from the mainstream VW brand, which is also reintroducing physical controls and upgrading materials at the same time.
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