By Liam Pritchett
3 Minutes Read
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The new Mercedes-Benz is the first car to offer vegan-certified interior fittings.
The electric Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology is available with an optional “Vegan Package,” which includes vegan seats, steering wheel, door trims, and centre console, all inspected and certified by The Vegan Society. Mercedes-Benz says that the move makes it the first car manufacturer in the world with the Vegan Trademark.
Read more: Hyundai Partners With UNCAGED To Develop Leather Alternatives For Car Interiors
The Vegan Society tested approximately 100 material components from various Mercedes-Benz suppliers as part of its rigorous Vegan Trademark certification standards. While the GLC is currently the only vehicle in the range to offer vegan-certified interiors, Mercedes-Benz has said that it plans to roll the package out across additional models in the future.
“With this joint project between The Vegan Society and Mercedes-Benz, we have reached a new milestone: it is the first time that a car interior has been third-party certified and approved by the Vegan Trademark,” said Gabriela Chalkia-Jackson, client relations manager at The Vegan Society. “We are thrilled that Mercedes-Benz chose to partner with us on this journey, and we have certainly learnt a lot from the two-year project.”
According to Car Magazine, one of Mercedes-Benz’s EQS saloon cars featuring solid-state battery technology recently completed a notably long 749-mile trip without recharging. At the end of the experiment, the vehicle still had approximately 85 miles of charge remaining.
Research published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that battery electric cars sold today produce 73 percent fewer life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) than gas-fueled vehicles, even taking into account the significant footprint of manufacturing new cars.
Read more: French Car Brand Renault To Go Completely Leather-Free By The End Of 2025
Mercedes-Benz is just the latest car company to embrace vegan interiors for its vehicles. Earlier this month, Hyundai Motor Group announced a new partnership with UNCAGED Innovations to develop high-performance vegan leather interiors, while Renault recently announced that its entire range would be animal leather-free by the end of 2025 after speaking with the animal rights group PETA.
Traditional leather production reached 12.5 million tonnes in 2020, the equivalent of more than 1.4 billion animals. Car manufacturers use 13.4 percent of this leather, increasing the lifetime emissions of both individual vehicles and the industry as a whole.
In 2022, research by The Vegan Society found that 75 percent of all British people would like to see automobile manufacturers ditch animal products. Approximately 70 percent expressed interest in purchasing a vegan car at some point in the future.
“Transparency and trust are very important to us,” said Markus Schäfer, chief technology officer at Mercedes-Benz Group AG. “Our customers can rest assured that our vegan interior materials do not contain any animal products and meet very high testing standards. We are delighted to be able to offer them this assurance through our partnership with an independent and globally recognised certification organisation.”
Read more: The Problem With Leather: Is The Industry Cruel, And Is It Really A Byproduct?
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Liam writes about the environment, sustainability, and animal welfare. They have freelanced for Plant Based News since 2022 and worked in vegan digital media since 2019. Liam has also worked as an assistant editor for a B2B magazine, a staff writer, a researcher, and countless other things. They studied English Literature and Film at the University Of East Anglia, where they were introduced to animal rights. They live in Norwich, UK with a notoriously stubborn rescue dog.
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