Steering wheels that are still lovely to touch are key to BMW Group's pledge to offer "completely vegan" car interiors from next year. It says new and innovative materials are now available that will "fulfil demanding criteria when it comes to feel, premium appearance and wear resistance".
The company says demand for vegan and leather-free interiors is intensifying, especially in the US, China and Europe.
BMW also says that replacing raw materials of animal origin makes a significant contribution to increasing sustainability in vehicle production. Completely vegan doesn't mean, well, completely: but the new surface material for steering wheels means the the proportion of vehicle components that "contain traces of raw materials of animal origin" will fall to less than one per cent in the relevant BMW and Mini vehicles.
These materials will now only be used in areas that are not visible to the customer: 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.
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“The innovative material withstands wear and tear caused by abrasion, perspiration and moisture and has all the desirable properties of leather,” says Uwe Köhler, head of development: body, exterior trim and interior at BMW Group.
The only distinguishing feature of the material will be a new grain effect on the steering wheel rim. It reduces CO2e emissions along the value chain by around 85 per cent compared with leather. Currently, around 80 per cent of emissions are in the form of methane gas from cattle rearing. The remaining 20 percent is accounted for by processing of the cowhide, which is highly energy- and water-intensive.
BMW Group is working with a number of start-up companies to develop bio-materials. Mirum, which is 100 per cent bio-based and petroleum-free, has the potential to mimic all the properties of traditional leather. Another new material, Deserttex, is made from pulverised cactus fibres with a bio-based polyurethane matrix.