Every car has a giant touchscreen now

A visitor checks a Tesla Model 3 car at a showroom of the US electric vehicle (EV) maker in Beijing, China. — Reuters

As recently as 10 years ago, touchscreens in cars were tiny – if they were there at all. Most were grudgingly added by automakers in anticipation of a US mandate on backup cameras, or an early response to Elon Musk, who dropped a 17in monitor into a Tesla in 2012. Destinations were largely DIY, mapped on a plugged-in GPS device or chirped from an iPhone jammed in the cupholder.

Fast forward a decade and touchscreens are no longer a reluctant add-on or an innovative auto perk; they’re table stakes. Some 97% of new cars globally have at least one touch screen, and they are metastasising quickly.