Volvo Announces Plans to Make All Cars Leather-Free and Electric by 2030

The Swedish automobile giant Volvo just revealed new plans to sell only electric vehicles starting in 2030 and move towards leather-free interiors. The car company is hoping to propel its brand into the future, leaving gasoline and leather in the past, replacing these products with more sustainable alternatives. Volvo promises to produce cars with leather-free materials without compromising the comfortability and design of the company’s cars.

“We intend to reduce leather content in our cars and this will be a gradual transition,” a Volvo spokesperson told Roadshow. “We are conscious that consumers increasingly want leather-free materials, due to concerns over animal welfare.”

The company launched a plan to become completely carbon neutral by 2040, presenting an array of new designs and ideas with the latest being the new leather-free electric cars. Last year, Volvo began this transition to more animal and eco-friendly designs with the Polestar 2, the first of a promised long-line of leather-free electric vehicles. Alongside the announcement that Volvo will leave behind leather and gasoline, the company unveiled its C40 recharge, a crossover coupe SUV. The leather-free line shows the car company’s rapid-paced dedication to reinventing its entire production structure and public image.

Volvo follows a new pattern from iconic car companies. Last month the head of design at MINI, Oliver Heilmer, told the public that the British car company plans to remove leather from its future models. “We don’t need leather anymore in the future because we don’t believe it’s sustainable,” Heilmer said.

Audi and BMW recently announced initiatives to limit the leather within the companies’ models. Volvo is the first to dedicate its cars to a wholly sustainable structure. The recent announcements come years after Tesla first began to offer leather-free interiors in 2016, completing its fully vegan vehicle in 2019. Volvo’s promise will hopefully inspire other companies to take the same pledge, and take the vehicles into a new age of both design and awareness.