The European automotive industry is in trouble, and Mate Rimac has a pretty simple solution: Stop trying to beat the Chinese at their own game. That means fewer giant screens, fewer buttons replaced by touch-sensitive surfaces, and less obsession with charging speeds. Instead, Bugatti's boss argues that European automakers should focus on something China can't replicate as easily: luxury and craftsmanship with genuinely premium materials.

Rimac makes his point while poking around the interior of a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph (aka Bentley Arnage), pointing to the leather, wood, and other high-quality materials used in the cabin. The message is pretty clear: This is what luxury used to look like, and perhaps it's something the European automotive industry has lost sight of while chasing the latest tech trends.

The automotive industry has spent the last few years turning the interior into a tech demo. Screens have gotten larger, physical controls have disappeared, and automakers routinely brag about how much computing power they've packed into their latest cars. None of that necessarily makes a car feel more luxurious.

A 12-inch display is still a 12-inch display, whether it's in a €30,000 family crossover or a €300,000 luxury car. In some cases, the cheaper car can even have a larger screen. That's where Rimac's argument gets particularly interesting. He believes European automakers need to find their niche in much the same way Switzerland did with watchmaking. Swiss companies don't try to make the world's cheapest watches. They focus on craftsmanship and exclusivity, selling relatively small volumes while capturing a huge share of the industry's profits.

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