Audi plans to replace its current screen-heavy cabin design within the next two years, bringing back more physical controls, subtler displays and higher-grade materials.
According to Australian publication GoAuto, Audi chief technical officer Rouven Mohr said the brand was working to restore the cabin qualities for which it was previously known.
The current layout, introduced in 2023 and described as Audi’s “Digital Stage”, relies on large displays and relatively few conventional controls.
The third-generation Q7 is expected to be among the final new models launched with this interior architecture.
Future Audi cabins will instead use smaller or more discreetly integrated displays alongside buttons and rotary controls.
Mohr said the company would also pay closer attention to material quality.
Surfaces that resemble metal should use real metal, while physical controls should deliver the familiar click and tactile response associated with older Audi interiors.
The new approach forms part of Audi’s incoming “Radical Next” design direction.
GoAuto reported that it will appear across forthcoming models including a production sports car based on the Concept C, the Nuvolari, Q7 e-tron and A4 e-tron. The article did not establish the precise order in which those models will receive it.
Mohr also acknowledged that buyers in China, Europe and North America have different expectations. Audi already operates a separate China-focused AUDI brand, although it has not confirmed that its global models will receive entirely different cabin designs for each region.
If introduced within GoAuto’s stated 24-month window, the Digital Stage layout will have lasted only about four years — an unusually brief cycle for a major interior design.
