VW to stop using cheap plastics in its cars, says design boss

Switching to nicer fabric interiors and simpler door cards will benefit both the carmaker and customers

Speaking in an interview, Volkswagen's design chief, Christian Schreiber, stated that the carmaker is working on removing the cheap plastic materials in its cars, replacing them with fabrics, and improving the quality of the cabin.

The design boss stated that when customers open the doors of a Volkswagen, it needs to be simple, usable, and not overly decorated. He mentioned, "When you open the door on a Bentley, it’s big and bold architecture, very strong luxury. When you open the door of a Volkswagen, it needs to be simple and usable and not overly decorated." He further added, "This should be the same once you use the car; it’s meant to work with you and not make things more complicated. It needs to also play with all the touchpoints you have in life."

Volkswagen's head of design, Andy Mindt, also part of the interview, mentioned how the brand will no longer use cheap piano black trim, horrid capacitive buttons, and hard scratchy plastics in its car interiors.

Mindt stated, "We’re going to try and kick out cheap plastic materials and put the money instead into fabrics and improving quality, which helps save money and means we can use it elsewhere. An example could be a door card that’s made of three pieces. We’ll try instead to design it using one island in the middle. There’ll still be a door handle and armrest as before, but it’ll all be built from one piece. It also makes the whole process more sustainable."

The design head also believes that switching to nicer fabric interiors and simpler door cards will benefit both the carmaker and customers - contributing to a "friendlier vibe in the cabin."

Source: TopGear