VOLVO CARS TO GO LEATHER-FREE BY 2030

Fri 24 September 2021:

In response to animal welfare concerns, Volvo announced on Thursday that all of its future fully electric cars will be leather-free by 2030.

“Being a progressive car maker means we need to address all areas of sustainability, not just CO2 emissions… Going leather-free inside our pure electric cars is a good next step towards addressing this issue,” Stuart Templar, Volvo’s sustainability director, said.

The Swedish automaker, which has its head office in Gothenburg but is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely, said it was researching sustainable materials to use in new models.

A new interior material, Nordico, for instance, will be made of recycled plastic bottles, wine corks and materials from sustainable Swedish and Finnish forests.

As part of its climate goal, the company wants to increase the percentage of recycled and “bio-based” materials used in cars to 25% by 2025. It will continue to provide approved suppliers with wool-blend options.

A number of automotive manufacturers have announced plans to kit their vehicles out with materials other than leather. Back in 2019, Elon Musk’s Tesla said the interior of its Model 3 was “100% leather-free.”

Other examples include Porsche — a brand owned by the Volkswagen Group — offering customers a leather-free option for the interior of the Taycan, an all-electric sports car.

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