The carmakers offering vegan interiors

PARIS: More and more carmakers are switching to fully vegan interiors, free from leather, wool and other animal-derived materials, according to a study published by the animal rights organization, PETA.

A car interior can be considered vegan if it contains no materials of animal origin, such as leather or wool. This applies equally to seats and upholstery, as it does to steering wheels and paneling.

Volvo can be considered a forerunner in this field, with the first interiors to feature textiles made from recycled materials such as plastic bottles or even wine corks, starting in 2021.

Today, the Swedish manufacturer (now part of China's Geely group) offers a vegan interior as standard on its EX30, EX40, EC40, S60 and V60. Another manufacturer particularly committed to the vegan cause is Mercedes-Benz, which offers a vegan interior on the majority of its range, including the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class and E-Class, as well as the GLC, GLE, GLS, EQB and EQE.

French manufacturers are not to be outdone, with Renault (Twingo, Clio, Captur, Mégane and Scenic), Peugeot (mainly LCVs) and Citroën (Ami, C3 and some LCVs) offering vegan interiors on an increasingly wide range of their models.

Other good performers include Dacia, Fiat, Jaguar Land Rover, Jeep, Kia, Mini, smart and Opel. Even China's BYD is getting in on the act. However, availability varies from country to country, so the option of vegan interiors is not always guaranteed.

On the other hand, many manufacturers still don't have a single vehicle in their range with a vegan interior. This is particularly true of many sports and luxury brands, such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and Rolls-Royce.

PETA estimates that 35 million cow hides are used every year to create interiors for the automotive industry. For PETA, the production of animal-based materials is as harmful to the Earth as it is cruel to animals.

In the end, vegan fabrics have a much smaller ecological footprint and are, for the most part, durable and resistant. Most are made from recycled materials, such as fishing nets, T-shirts, plastic or cork.

To carry out its study, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) nonprofit questioned 110 carmakers from the USA, China, Europe, India and Japan about the vegan editions and models they do or do not offer today. Unfortunately, the majority of American and Chinese manufacturers did not respond to the organization's request.