Leather eye on Geneva Motor Show
09/03/2009
The main themes of the Geneva Motor Show 2009 (March 3–15) appear still to be prestige, power, luxury and gloss, according to leather industry sources who have visited the event.
In spite of the difficult global economic situation and worldwide pressures to make cars greener, consumers still seem reluctant to regard small, fuel-efficient, economic and ecologically sound vehicles as ‘dream cars’.
Nevertheless, the trend is for the automotive industry to present better fuel efficiency and alternative forms of fuel, even though many hybrids, electric and other alternatives are far from perfect and have, in some cases, been in full production for only a couple of years.
Among the thousands of models on display in Geneva were cars that can travel 100 km on less than four litres of fuel, which will soon become less than three litres.
At the higher end, leather is still standard, as automotive brands such as Lotus showed, with a complete range of leathers. For smaller cars, where leather is optional, automotive companies are trying to entice consumers with new materials, navigation systems and other technical extras instead.
Our sources have suggested that a major motor show such as Geneva can no longer offer tanners real insight into future demand for automotive leather—either in quality or volume. However, it is also clear that cars covered in different types of synthetic material are never going to be fashionable.
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