Leather Pipeline: Is leather on shaky ground in the automotive sector?
19/03/2019
It draws this conclusion following the APLF exhibition, which took place in Hong Kong from March 13-15.
“It is not that long ago that automotive leather production seemed to be an endless success story, with the volume of automotive leather going from record to record in terms of market share and the entire cake of leather production continuing to rise,” the report says, although that is where the positivity ends.
Global car sales dropped suddenly during the second half of 2018, with the start of 2019 not proving much better. This created a backup of material at various points along the leather supply chain, resulting in significant production cuts.
Leather now has to contend with the changes sweeping through the automotive sector, which include autonomous vehicles and new fuels, and the unclear impact they will have on how vehicle interiors are designed.
The Leather Pipeline suggests that car manufacturers are keen to get away from leather in order to use alternative materials that they feel are easier to work with. Leather is safe as long as it adds value to a vehicle, the report continues, but as soon as this is no longer the case, car makers will not hesitate to abandon it.
What’s more, even though there are a strong community of consumers for whom leather is essential in a car interior, this is certainly not the case for the mass market. The report also warns that the younger generation of vehicle buyers will probably not miss leather were it to be replaced with an alternative material.
The full report can be accessed here.
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