Euro NCAP touchscreen rules for climate controls, buttons and five-star ratings

© A. Krivonosov

Touchscreen climate-control panels will remain acceptable even in cars aiming for a five-star Euro NCAP rating. The European safety organisation has confirmed that it does not plan to require separate physical buttons for temperature or volume adjustment. These actions are not considered time-critical, unlike access to several core driving functions.

British magazine Auto Express received the clarification on 12 October 2026. A Euro NCAP representative said the organisation does not plan to force manufacturers to install physical climate and multimedia controls because those actions are not time-critical and there is not yet sufficient evidence that mechanical controls are inherently safer in these cases.

Euro NCAP assesses controls separately under Driving and Comfort & Infotainment. Indicators, front wipers and washers, the horn, hazard lights and the eCall button are subject to stricter requirements for direct physical operation. Temperature and fan speed may be adjusted with touch controls if the target is sufficiently large, separated from neighbouring controls or identifiable by touch. Some other climate functions may be accessed through menus of no more than two steps.

This distinction explains why manufacturers continue to take different approaches to cabin design. BMW, for example, is moving more climate functions to screens and voice control. Volkswagen, by contrast, has brought physical climate switches back on the new ID.3 Neo in place of earlier touch elements, mainly in response to customer feedback rather than a direct Euro NCAP requirement.

The interface score does not determine a car's entire safety rating. In results published on 12 October, the XPENG X9 scored only 20% for Driving controls but 80% for Comfort & Infotainment and still earned five stars thanks to its performance in the other tests. The Audi Q7, by contrast, scored 100% for Driving controls and 80% for Comfort & Infotainment. Its maximum score for basic driving controls therefore does not conflict with climate settings being available through a display.

For owners of modern cars, the issue is therefore less clear-cut than a simple choice between screens and buttons. Touchscreen climate control by itself does not prevent a high score, but Euro NCAP requires core driving functions to remain available through direct physical controls.

When choosing a car, it is worth looking beyond the final star rating to the separate Driving controls and Comfort & Infotainment results. Euro NCAP does not ban screens or require manufacturers to restore mechanical temperature or volume controls, but it does assess how quickly and clearly a driver can use these functions.