Do the EU and China actually require physical control buttons in cars?

The Chinese government may soon require new cars to have physical buttons to reduce distractions caused by display screens. However, physical switches aren’t strictly mandated in the EU.

Cybernews looks beyond the headlines claiming that China and the EU now require physical control buttons in newly manufactured cars.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has proposed a requirement for all newly manufactured cars to have physical control mechanisms for functions such as turning turn signals or opening windows, Car News China reported in February.

The requirement, if passed, would come into effect on July 1st, 2027.

In recent years, Chinese car manufacturers have been embracing minimalist cockpit design in new vehicles, with fewer physical control buttons. Instead, cars were designed with large central control screens that housed most of the vehicle’s functions.

The MIIT’s proposal aims to ensure that key control components are accessible, usable, and largely blind-operable during driving, while reducing distractions caused by display screens.

The proposal would require the button size to be larger than 10mm x 10mm and ensure that basic functions remain available when the vehicle system crashes or power is lost, according to Car News China.

Updated guidelines by the New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP), the European voluntary car safety performance evaluator, came into effect in 2026.

The safety body now only gives the 5-star safety rating to cars that have physical switches for indicators, hazard warning lights, windscreen wipers, a horn, and SOS features.

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“The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle-maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes,” Matthew Avery, director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, told The Times.

However, physical buttons in the EU aren’t strictly mandated by the law.

A 2026 review of 73 studies suggests that touchscreens tend to perform worse than physical or voice controls in terms of driving performance, visual attention, and secondary-task performance.

A Tesla driver in Germany who crashed while trying to adjust the windshield wiper settings on a touchscreen was charged with distracted driving in 2020 under the same laws that prohibit using mobile phones while driving.

Physical switches in cars aren’t currently mandated in the US. However, China’s new law or Euro NCAP recommendations may still impact American drivers.

Car manufacturers that want to maintain their positions in Chinese and European markets are likely to adopt physical switches as a new global standard.

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