Has any auto manufacturer tried to justify touchscreens, or commented on their safety?

I read this review and realized it’s not just most UX designers who think touch screens in cars are a bad idea (they are skewered pretty bad here): https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/09/range-rover-velar-review

My question is, has anyone from a car company publicly discussed the usability and safety aspects of touch screens in cars? Maybe in a press release, interview, blog post, anything?

Since so many designers and lay people have spoken out against this, maybe I’ve just missed the part where car makers are making their case? Even if I would disagree, maybe there is another side to the story?

I’m speculating it wouldn’t be hard to do A/B testing and prove touch only controls used while driving are less safe. Therefore, it seems like this would have compelled a response at least on why it’s being done so much.