The seats of future cars could be vegan

Many manufacturers are already working with vegan and environmentally friendly materials.

Carbon fibre used to be the ultimate symbol of how much a user could expect to spend on the interior of their new car. A generous dashboard, bespoke door panels or even leather seats showcased the prestige of an expensive, sporty or even unique vehicle.

Now, manufacturers want to take things a step further, and the latest development is vegan seats and interiors. Yes, they are made from plants. Massimo Frascella, creative director at Land Rover, has pointed out that “fifty years ago, a leather sofa was the height of luxury.” “Today, you would never see that in the best hotels and homes. It is a similar process with cars. From now on, sustainable design provides the framework for change.”

Land Rover’s creative director, Massimo Frascella, was in Manhattan during the New York Auto Show to present Land Rover’s new line of materials, entirely vegan and leather-free. This product line was developed with the aim of equipping the new Range Rover Evoque 2020, the Range Rover Velar and the Jaguar I-Pace.

“There is a growing number of people who are concerned about where the textiles and materials in their vehicle come from.” Land Rover’s new interiors are intended to appeal to those consumers for whom the highest form of luxury aligns with their environmental beliefs.

Eucalyptus, the new seat material from Land Rover

Land Rover’s developers are working with eucalyptus. They have already begun work on a textile produced from eucalyptus fibres, which uses significantly less water than traditional materials such as plastic or Alcantara. Furthermore, it can be dyed to match any colour.

A durable wool blend from the company Kvadrat is also used, which feels like a soft wool jumper. Alongside this blend, a microfibre that imitates suede is used. It is fire-resistant and extremely durable. It is made from recycled plastic bottles; 53 per vehicle, according to Land Rover.

Land Rover is not the only brand using vegan materials

Volvo, for its part, wants at least 25% of the plastics in its models to be made from recycled materials. It is currently 5%. In addition, Polestar, a subsidiary of Volvo, has announced that its first production model, the §5Hyundaih33§, will have a vegan interior.

Audi has developed sustainable and even carbon-neutral materials for its electric vehicles. The seats of the Audi Q4 e-tron are made from recycled plastic, and the Audi e-tron GT offers an interior option of synthetic leather and recycled microfibres, including a Econyl yarn carpet made from used fishing nets.

At the Aicon Concept, Audi presented seat covers made from Climatex, a double-layer fabric with a polyester top and a pure wool underside. It was developed so that the two layers could be separated by type and recycled at the end of the vehicle’s life. Although it is not being produced, solutions like this indicate how Audi envisions the future of interiors.