The cruelty-free, compassionate bandwagon of automakers who use non-animal materials for their vehicles just keeps on growing. To be clear, though, vegan-friendly cars still aren’t that mainstream in the Philippine market yet. But with the trend I’m seeing not just here but worldwide, vegan-friendly cars are well on their way.
As more people worldwide are adopting veganism not just as a dietary choice but as a holistic way of life (particularly in Europe), the auto market is also starting to feel this marked increase in demand. And many carmakers have responded positively, rolling out models that have vegan-friendly variants.
The business of veganism in automobiles is certainly a lucrative one. Vegan leather—or faux leather—is poised to become an $80-billion market by 2025. And don’t look now, but as Chinese car manufacturers are asserting their might in the global mobility landscape, they also reveal a soft spot for cruelty-free materials.
The prime example here, of course, is no less than Chinese luxury marque Hongqi. Through general distributor EVOxTerra, Hongqi just recently opened its flagship dealership at the ground floor of the Asian Century Center at Bonifacio Global City. The dealership’s centerpiece is the mammoth full-size electric SUV E-HS9, elegant and opulent with all the trappings of a cutting-edge battery electric vehicle (BEV). Despite its bully-like proportions and stance, gut-pulling torque and acceleration, this beast has an interior fit and finish that has harmed not one animal. The E-HS9, I’m glad to note, uses Alcantara+PVC and Nappa+PVC synthetic leather (the kind of Nappa not sourced from animal skin, according to the distributor). Furthermore, the tires are also all-vegan, using the Michelin brand. Michelin is probably the only tire brand that sources its stearic acid entirely from plants.
Over on the European side, we have the new Mercedes-Benz EQ series of all-electric vehicles, which the official and sole distributor of Mercedes-Benz in the Philippines, IC Star Automotive Inc., debuted last Sept 20 at its Greenhills showroom. Benjie Bautista, assistant vice president for Product Management and Training of IC Star Automotive Inc. disclosed that of the four new EVs introduced— the Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 Electric Art, EQB 250 Electric Art, EQE 300 Electric Art, and EQE 350+ AMG Line—two of them come with the Artico leather fabric combination, which means these are faux leather. The seat materials are not sourced from animals. Unfortunately, for the animals and the animal lovers, the EQE variants are equipped with leather seats that are made from animals. Bautista said there’s an option to get Artico for all EQ models but that there are still customers who demand animal-sourced leather. For the record, Mercedes-Benz has been offering faux leather Artico in its vehicles since 2003.
Volvo Philippines, which is about to launch the pure electric C40 Recharge Twin and the XC40 Recharge Twin today, October 4 at the Rockwell Power Plant Mall, also disclosed to me that the new models’ interiors are furnished with non-animal sourced T-Tec.
These newest EVs from Mercedes-Benz and Volvo join the earlier luxury entries from BMW, Porsche, Audi, and Lexus that have offered faux leather in their new EVs. BMW uses SensaTec, Porsche uses RaceTex for its Taycan, while the Audi e-tron SUV is upholstered either with a combination of artificial leather and the Kaskade material or with a mixture of artificial leather and the microfiber material Dinamica, with recycled materials such as old plastic bottles used in both cases. The Lexus RZ BEV, meanwhile, offers ultra-suede, a sustainable form of suede partly using biomaterials and recycled PET.
So, what’s the next posh ride coming out with cruelty-free interiors? Keep your eyes, and your minds, open.
