Mini Will Eliminate Leather Seating

When Mini gets to its next round of vehicle updates, there will be one thing missing inside them: leather.

The brand’s design director Oliver Heilmer confirmed the change to Autocar website this week, saying “we don’t need leather any more in the future, because we don’t believe it’s sustainable. We're totally convinced that we will have modern and high-value products without leather." In the company’s view, leather is simply no longer really part of a sustainable development approach.

It’s probably safe to assume that the company will turn to vegan leather, similar to what Tesla uses in its models and Porsche with its Taycan. In general, the focus will be on using materials that are more durable/recyclable.

In addition to eliminating leather, Oliver Heilmer said Mini wants to continue using as much recycled materials as possible on board in its vehicles. For the moment, the fabric on the seating comes entirely from recovered materials and the lining underneath is made up of 70-percent recycled content.

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