Travelers are provided with their individual screens.
Passengers in the driver's seat used to flash while those in the luxury class in the backseat had their own screens to themselves. However, this setup is changing slowly due to regulations and concerns about driver distraction.
Car manufacturers are now prioritizing separate displays for passengers, primarily driven by the Chinese market. Jan Burgard, a strategy consultant from Berylls in Munich, explains this shift: "For many customers, the screen diagonal is more important than engine size or horsepower, and the recent electrification and interchangeability of drives have sped up this trend."
In Europe, this change has a double impact: Chinese carmakers like Denza and Voyah are bringing similar vehicles to the market, and German manufacturers, with their biggest sales in China, are catching up. The Mercedes E-Class, Audi Q6 E-Tron, Porsche Macan, and BMW 5er, for example, now offer at least the option of a passenger screen.
This trend is long overdue: The driver has been looking at digital displays for over a decade, and backseat passengers have had their own screens as optional equipment for some time, but the passenger has been looking at nothing.
Fear of Driver Distraction
The delay in implementing this change is due to legislation. The authorities have been worried about distracting the driver and have thus refused to approve such systems, said Mercedes development manager Markus Schäfer. Only with the introduction of a privacy function that hides the passenger display from the driver has approval for features like mobile surfing or streaming been granted.
Mercedes is taking advantage of this with the upcoming CLA, which will feature a digital screen across the entire cockpit, Schäfer announced, and plans to fill that screen with vivid content.
Screens are not always essential
However, screens are not always necessary: When BMW introduces the "New Class" next year with the MMA architecture and the latest infotainment system, there will only be a single screen in the center, and for the first time, a head-up display that stretches across the entire width of the windshield will be used. According to Frank Weber, BMW's development manager, "In large areas, it can be configured freely and can be seen by both the driver and the passenger."
This is just one example of a counter-trend. At the lower end of the market, screens are getting bigger and better, but cars like the new Mini and the Volvo EX30 are simplifying a bit behind the steering wheel. This move kills two birds with one stone: Designers like the clean, uncluttered look, and accountants appreciate the lower costs.
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The luxury class passengers in rival car manufacturers, such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz Group AG, now enjoy their own screens as well. Porsche, another renowned car manufacturer, has also joined the trend by offering a passenger screen option in models like the Porsche Macan. The increasing popularity of this feature is not limited to high-end models; even budget car manufacturers like Mini are incorporating separate passenger displays in their vehicles.
Source: www.ntv.de
