BMW and Mini will offer vegan interiors from 2023 onwards

As part of its initiative towards climate neutrality by 2050, BMW Group is set to introduce a series of new vegan interiors for both the BMW and Mini brands. A selection of models from both brands are set to offer customers the option to furnish their cabins with new vegan trim materials starting from 2023 onwards.

The effort sees BMW BMW successfully developing leather replacements that it believes will wear just as well and feel just as good as leather. The only tip off will be a new grain in the faux material.

The firm also plans to offer interiors with fully vegan touchpoints, but there will still a few components that use animal products. These include gelatin, which will be used for protective coatings, as well as lanolin in paints, tallow as an additive in some elastomers, and beeswax as a flux for paint. According to BMW, these parts with animal products will amount to less than one percent of the interior.

Beyond this, BMW Group is also working towards developing other materials that were already vegan to begin with. These include carpets, which are easier to recycle. By producing these out of a single material instead of a mix, they will be easier to break down and reuse later, and this could save as much as 23,000 tonnes of CO2 and 1,600 tonnes of waste per year.

BMW Group has worked hard towards ensuring these materials are ready to hold up against the the difficulties of being in a car. This includes ensuring that they can hold up when used on a steering wheel – an aspect which the firm says was one of the most challenging it faced.

“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 Uwe Köhler, head of development for body, exterior trim and interiors at BMW Group.

He further adds that the innovative material withstands wear and tear caused by abrasion, perspiration and moisture and has all the desirable properties of leather.