BMW says the development of innovative materials with leather-like properties allowed it to develop its first fully vegan interiors.
MUNICH – Living the vegan life entails a lot more than just those often fiercely-debated dietry habits, it exends to every single product that a person uses, and some car companies are cottoning on to this.
BMW announced this week that from next year it will launch its first vehicles featuring completely vegan interiors. According to the carmaker, this is being enabled by the development of innovative materials that boast leather-like properties.
Apart from the all-important seats, these materials will also be used for steering wheel surfaces, which must fulfil demanding criteria when it comes to feel, premium appearance and wear resistance.
“Fully vegan interiors will be available for both BMW and Mini models for the first time from 2023. The BMW Group is thus serving the demand for vegan and leather-free interiors, which is set to increase further in the near future, especially in the US, China and Europe,” BMW said in a statement.
This is but one step along the path to total climate neutrality, which the German carmaker hopes to achieve by 2050 at the latest.
“Material selection has a key role to play in achieving this goal. Replacing raw materials of animal origin makes a significant contribution to increasing sustainability in vehicle production,” BMW said.
“The introduction of a new surface material for steering wheels will see the proportion of vehicle components that contain traces of raw materials of animal origin fall to less than one percent in the respective BMW and Mini vehicles. As a result, these materials will now only be found in areas that are not visible to the customer, for example in various waxy substances such as gelatine used in protective coatings, lanolin in paints, tallow as an additive in elastomers and beeswax as a flux for paints.”
A notable challenge, BMW said, was creating leather-like steering wheel surfaces as these must fulfil demanding criteria when it comes to appearance, wear resistance and durability.
“With a steering wheel made from a high-quality vegan surface material, we are fulfilling the wishes of our customers who do not want to make any compromises in terms of look, feel and functionality,” said BMW development head Uwe Köhler.
“The innovative material withstands wear and tear caused by abrasion, perspiration and moisture and has all the desirable properties of leather.”
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