Walking through the aisles of the Japan Mobility Show 2025, we had the very real feeling that the ‘steering wheel’ has entered a new era. In many of the concept cars, the steering wheel is no longer a circle but a device: yokes, rectangles, hybrid handles, and even this small Japanese micro-EV with a hollowed-out yoke to clip onto a smartphone, like an HMI dock in the centre of the steering wheel. We are no longer talking about steering wheels, we are talking about driving interfaces.
And then there’s the Peugeot Polygon. A compact concept, less than 4 m long, but above all a manifesto for the interior: rectangular Hypersquare, full steer-by-wire, pods at the four corners to control the main functions, and a windscreen transformed into a customisable information screen. This is no longer a fantasy: the manufacturer has clearly announced that the Hypersquare + electric steering system will go into production in 2027 on the successor to the 208.
From an interior designer’s point of view, the shift is significant. The geometry of the steering wheel is no longer dictated by the rack and pinion, but by software. The field of vision is freed up on the upper screens and the windscreen display. The driver’s airbag packaging, steering columns and even the entry/exit kinematics are being rewritten.
Will the round steering wheel disappear altogether? Not in the short term: customer acceptance, active safety considerations and electronic redundancy will keep the circle alive for a long time to come. But its status is changing: from an industrial necessity, it is becoming a choice of identity.
What if, in ten years’ time, the round steering wheel is nothing more than a vintage nod in ‘Heritage’ packs?
Save the date (even better, register now!)
On 14 and 15 January 2026, we will meet at the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile in Turin for the 10th DVN Interior workshop under the rubric Next-Gen Automotive Interiors: where CMF, Lighting, and Sustainability converge.
On the agenda:
- Seats and cockpits, where comfort, modularity and eco-designed materials merge
- Cockpit UX/UI: balancing displays, touch controls and physical interfaces with eco-friendly surfaces
- Interior lighting as a true brand language, serving to create atmosphere, enhance safety, and promote energy efficiency.
- Materials and circularity: biomaterials, recycled plastics, lightweight composites and circular design strategies at the heart of upcoming programs.
This is the meeting place for the DVN interior community: designers, CMF experts, seat & cockpit managers, lighting, materials and sustainability specialists, with the announced presence of major tier-1 suppliers and technology providers.
Reserve your place now online! Questions? Email me.
Take care,
