Volvo announced on Thursday that all its new fully electric cars will be completely leather-free by 2030, in recognition of concerns for animal welfare.
"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.
The company plans to raise the share of recycled and "bio-based" materials used in cars to 25% by 2025 as part of its climate agenda. It will continue offering wool-blend options from certified suppliers.
