French Car Brand Renault To Go Completely Leather-Free By The End Of 2025

Renault has said that all of its cars will be completely leather-free by the end of 2025.

The French car manufacturer committed to eliminating all animal leather-based interiors after speaking with animal rights groups PETA France and PETA Germany. The new Renault 5 E-Tech Electric, Symbioz, and Rafale vehicles all already feature leather-free interiors as standard, made from eco-friendly fabrics featuring recycled textiles and recycled plastic waste.

PETA noted that there is a growing trend towards animal-free car interiors in response to consumer demand. While up to 90 percent of a vehicle’s environmental impact comes from fuel consumption and emissions, the production of new cars has its own significant footprint.

Circumventing the leather industry, which is implicated in everything from pollution to deforestation and human rights violations to animal cruelty, is one simple way to reduce the impact of the automobile industry. Last year, PETA carried out a report on vegan car interiors listing the various leather and wool-free options available throughout Europe.

The charity urged car companies such as Audi, Porsche, ŠKODA, and more, which have zero leather-free interiors available, to follow Renault’s lead in supplying alternatives. PETA added that it takes an average of three cow or bull hides to upholster the interior of a single standard-sized car. Globally, the leather trade kills around one billion animals per year.

‘Compassion and innovation go hand-in-hand’

Renault The Renault 5 E-Tech Electric already features leather-free, fully recycled upholstery

According to Grand View Research, the global automotive leather market was worth approximately USD $33.35 billion in 2022, and is expected to reach $54.22 billion by the end of the decade. As of 2022, animal leather “dominated” with nearly 60 percent of the market.

“It’s impossible to have a relaxed, luxurious ride with the weight of animal suffering and environmental pollution on board,” said James Fraser, the senior corporate liaison at PETA France. “By choosing cruelty-free materials, Renault is helping spare clever cows, reduce its carbon footprint, and prove that compassion and innovation go hand-in-hand.”

In 2024, Volkswagen announced a collaboration with the plant-based, plastic-free start-up Revoltech GmbH. The companies plan to develop a vegan alternative to leather called “LOVR,” made with industrial hemp, a uniquely versatile and sustainable crop. Volkswagen vehicles could begin to feature LOVR instead of animal leather as early as 2028.