Volvo is ditching leather interiors for recycled and biobased materials

In Sweden, automaker Volvo Cars has declared it will go leather free in its 100% electric cars and will transition away from animal leather completely by 2030. 

 “Being a progressive car maker means we need to address all areas of sustainability, not just CO2 emissions,” said Stuart Templar, director of global sustainability at Volvo Cars, in a press statement. “Responsible sourcing is an important part of that work, including respect for animal welfare. Going leather-free inside our pure electric cars is a good next step towards addressing this issue.” 

The company has already created a new material in-house, dubbed Nordico, that is made from recycled materials, biobased materials from Sweden and Finland, and corks recycled from wine industry. 

The swap will start with Volvo’s new C40 Recharge, and by 2025, Volvo aims to have a quarter of the materials across all its cars come from recycled or biobased materials. By 2030, the company’s entire fleet will be fully electric.