Is it really hair turning? What is Alcantara common in luxury cars?

I believe many friends have seen the word Alcantara in the introduction of some luxury cars, which usually refers to the use of a high-grade leather material in the interior, which has a certain sense of grade and luxury. In fact, alcantara is not leather, although it is often mistaken for suede. What the hell is that?

The word Alcantara represents at least two meanings, the first meaning is the material itself, and the second meaning is the enterprise that produces this material.

First of all, talk about alcantara itself. Alcantara is not natural leather, but a synthetic material, which was invented by the Japanese in the 1970s, while Toray? Industry? Dr. Okamoto San Xuan Company (Doctor? Three good? Okamoto) applied for a patent for this newly developed material, which consists of 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane. Soft, good, durable and easy to maintain, so it is often used in some high-end cars. In China, it also has a Chinese name "Lan".

Secondly, the production company represented by alcantara. Since it was invented by the Japanese, was it a Japanese company? Actually, it is not. Actually, it is a joint venture between Italy and Japan.

1972, Italian ENI Group (then ANIC Group) and Toray Co., Ltd. Inc.) set up a joint venture company to jointly develop the commercial use of Alcantara material, a patented invention. This cooperation gave birth to the Italian company Alcantara? S.p.A (was founded as ANTOR? S.p.A), this is Alcantara company, which is widely known at present, with global production and sales? Alcantara's eponymous company is headquartered in Italy. In the joint venture company, the share distribution is 565,438+0% for ENI Group and 49% for Toray Corporation.

Alcantara materials first developed in the commercial field of fashion accessories. 1978 entered the automobile industry through Fiat X project, and then cooperated with Audi (American market) on a small scale. It was not until 1984 began to establish cooperation with Lancia brand of Fiat Group that it began to enter the automobile field on a large scale.

At present, alcantara materials are distributed in automobile, fashion, consumer electronics, aviation, navigation, furniture and other industries. Many high-end models take Alcantara material as the selling point of the interior and become the label of luxury quality. Although it is not genuine leather, it is more expensive than many genuine leather.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.