Room for growth in China’s €50 billion leather market
The director general of industry body Alliance France Cuir, Marc Brunel, said at the start of the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai that he was impressed by automotive’s strong showing in the Chinese leather market.
Speaking on the opening day of the event, September 3, Mr Brunel said his analysis showed that the Chinese leather industry is a market worth €50 billion per year. He said there had been declines in 2025 so far in the performance of some leather-using finished-product segments, but that automotive remained the main driver of the country’s leather manufacturing industry.
He said figures from the China Leather Industry Association suggest that 20% of all vehicles in China have leather interiors at the moment and that there is considerable room for growth.
In the first six months of 2025, Chinese car manufacturers produced more than 15.6 million vehicles of all kinds. This is an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period in 2024 and leaves the car industry in China on course to break last year’s record total of 31.4 million vehicles.
Image: All seats in the X9 are covered in nappa leather. Maker, Xpeng, tells consumers: “Every inch has a high-end touch.”
