Swedish manufacturer Volvo is marching to similar tunes of sustainability and eco-friendliness as other major automakers in shifting from gas to electric. This changing philosophy is evident in new electric cars like the Mazda MX-30 EV (and its cork-tastic interior) and BMW iX. Volvo is going further by taking an ethical stand for animal welfare. From here on (and starting with the C40 Recharge electric crossover), every production Volvo EV will be leather-free.

Cows & Global Warming

Volvo says livestock contributes 14 percent of global greenhouse emissions, and most of it is from cattle farming. According to the University of California, Davis, cattle are the number one agricultural source of greenhouse gases worldwide, and a single cow will belch out 220 lbs. of methane each year. Although methane from cow farts has a shorter lifespan than carbon dioxide, the former is 28 times more potent in warming the atmosphere.
?Being a progressive car maker means we need to address all areas of sustainability, not just CO2 emissions,? said Stuart Templar, director of global sustainability at Volvo Cars, and who happens to have the coolest name in the world.?Going leather-free inside our pure electric cars is a good next step towards addressing this issue.?

Photo: Volvo Car Group.

Going Completely Vegan

Volvo believes going leather-free is a step in the right direction, but ?doing so alone does not make a car interior vegan? (Volvo really said vegan in its pres...