When you buy a new car it can be easy to focus on its external appearance - the shape of the body, the colour, the overall style. But when you come to think about it, you spend the majority of your time inside that car, so the interior should be equally as important to you.
Car interior trends are changing and evolving all the time to suit our tastes, but also to keep pace with developments in the automotive sector, not to mention changes in public opinion.
In a recent interview with Robb Report, design director at Bentley Stefan Sielaff suggested that we could see more and more car manufacturers turning to vegan options for their interiors.
When asked about what direction he sees things moving in from a materials perspective, he predicted that people will increasingly look for options that align with their lifestyle choices.
"Maybe you eat everything organic, sustainable, vegan, animal-free — and yet we’re using 15 hides of leather for our cars," Mr Sielaff explained.
"This is obviously the extreme, and things change bit by bit, but some people will want a car that better aligns with their belief system," he asserted.
Mr Sielaff also predicted that the overall design of high-end cars could change considerably in the coming years - and be increasingly led by the speed we’ll be driving at - or be driven at - in the future.
He believes that the aerodynamic shapes we see now for some of the fastest and most prestigious autos available will start to change. He also stressed the importance for automakers to focus on interior design, noting that it is likely to become necessary to express an auto brand through its interior as well as exterior.
"There could also be social reasons for showing the luxury inside rather than on the outside," Mr Sielaff added. You don’t have to look too far to find some interesting and very different car interiors being developed. Car Keys recently highlighted a number of concept interiors that it expects to become popular in the future.
The Infiniti Q Inspiration, for instance, has taken a very minimal approach to its interior design, with the emphasis very much on "style and quality rather than equipment".
Another one to watch is the Porsche Mission E-Cross Turismo, according to the website. The cabin, with its moulded seats, touch controls and three-spoke steering wheel caught the attention of the automotive world at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
In fact, the majority of the concepts on display have moulded seats in the front and back of the vehicles - a move away from the traditional bench-style seat you typically find in the back of cars at the moment.
Some of the concepts on display at this year’s motor show gave a glimpse into the future of autonomous vehicles too. The Renault EZ-GO and the Volkswagen ID Vizzion being two examples where passengers take priority and there is no driver’s seat.
Regardless of what car you’d like to own in the future, make sure you take care of your current auto too. For mobile car valeting in London, get in touch with us today to find out about our services and ensure that your car is always in top condition.