mobile-menu-icon
GM Authority

Mailbag: What’s The Difference Between Evotex And Leather?

Plenty of people who write in to the GM Authority mailbag are interested in the materials utilized for Chevrolet seats. Some of our readers want to know what the exact difference is between GM’s Evotex and the leather for which it is a stand-in.

A related question is how much Evotex differs from the leatherette materials used by other modern automakers, who have their own branding and trademarked names for similar materials.

Evotex upholstery in the 2023 Chevy Colorado Desert Boss.

The most straightforward and accurate answer is that Evotex is the Chevrolet branding for simulated leather upholstery, otherwise known as leatherette. The same upholstery is used by Cadillac under the name of Inteluxe and by GMC with CoreTex branding. Buick uses the generic word leatherette. Chevy filed for a trademark on the Evotex name back in February 2023 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Unlike leather, which is tanned and treated animal skin, Evotex is made from a synthetic material variously described as thermoplastic or nylon by different sources. The material is soft and pleasing to the touch, similar to certain types of leather, but requires less maintenance. It is also said to be more durable than vinyl seating.

Spills and stains are resisted by Evotex, and certain Meguiar’s and Scotchgard protectants are said to work correctly with it. The material is lighter than leather and has a lower carbon footprint.

Evotex upholstery in the 2023 Chevy Colorado Z71.

Evotex seating is currently used by GM in the following models:

Evotex seating in the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71.

Many other manufacturers use extremely similar leatherette products with closely equivalent characteristics. The specific branding used by some other major automakers includes:

  • BMW: SensaTec
  • Ford: ActiveX
  • Lexus: NuLuxe
  • Mercedes-Benz: MB-Tex
  • Subaru: StarTex
  • Toyota: SofTex
  • Volvo: Nordico

Notably, GM’s application to trademark “Evotex” was refused in September 2023 by the Patent Office on the grounds that it was confusingly similar to the registered trademark “Evotech,” which is used for various motorcycle parts and seat upholstery. The nearly identical pronunciation was the key factor in the refusal.

GM did not respond to the USPTO refusal within the provided deadline and the trademark application is now considered abandoned, though Chevy continues to use the branding.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM Mailbag answers, GM trademark newsGM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

Subscribe to GM Authority

For around-the-clock GM news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest GM news. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. Thanks to PETA, they can now gouge by charging leather prices for leatherette. Bet it still gets hot and sticky, or cold.

    Reply
    1. It was a standard choice on my Trailblazer and no, doesn’t get HOT HOT like leather. As for cold, I have heated seats ( including remote start ) so that’s not a worry.

      Reply
      1. Correct Robert. Modern “leatherette” is way better than imitation leather of the late 2K. Materials have come a long way. In many ways I’d actually prefer the faux leather over real in this case. It’s softer, cleans easier, and doesn’t crease as bad with age. For those last reasons, I’ve always leaned towards cloth seats. I understand the desire for leather in a new car, but I’ve never bought a car with less than 100K on the odometer and by that point, cloth looks way fresher than their leather counterparts. I will be looking at EVOtex seats in a used vehicle in 4-5 years.

        Reply
        1. Steve it was velor cloth like in the 70s and 80s I would like it…but this new shiny cloth material that everything sticks to is not for me I’ll take Evotex or leather.

          Reply
          1. Corinthian Leather….lol

            Reply
    2. Has nothing to do with PETA. Where do you people get these crazy ideas? It’s cheaper for them to make faux leather and they can charge the same price, it’s simple economics not some PETA-led conspiracy theory to rob ‘Muricans of their beloved dead cow skin. It also allows them to charge more for the “real stuff” on, say, a Cadillac or Tahoe. I have it in my Trax, I love it. Doesn’t burn my arse like my all-leather GTI seats do.

      Reply
  2. 303 Aerospace Protectant is the best product to use, you can get an automotive specific one but it doesn’t matter between it or the generis or the marine/boat variety.

    Reply
  3. Another fine example of progress…. they can produce yards of these synthetic products in the time it takes to slaughter one cow. Yet the consumer never sees a price reduction. Marketing and the bean counters run every business today, they tell management and engineering what will sell and how much more they can make by making these changes.
    If it were not for the fleets and businesses that must have new vehicles every year, annual new vehicle purchases would decline because the average buyer is keeping their vehicle longer because of the annual price increases that are attributed to labor cost and the additional features the vehicle manufacturers are hyping. Government regulations may play a minor role but those too get added to the bottom line.
    Lastly the prices to repair newer vehicles. I recently had a GM dealer tell me his people could fix the unit but his shop rate was $120 hour and my charge to do the repair was half that.

    Reply
    1. Other than the cow is already getting slaughtered for meat, the feet for glue and medicinals. The hide will go somewhere as nothing is wasted in the beef industry.

      Reply
  4. Call it what it is !!! VINYL !!! Anything to save a buck. Buy cloth instead, if you are a PETA follower. My two cents. JoeD.

    Reply
    1. Personally, I prefer cloth

      Reply
      1. Yes as long as it’s a durable cloth.

        Reply
        1. I had Scotch Guarded cloth in my 1974 Chevrolet Beauville (full size) van. Kept waiting for it to show dirt, and/or wear, but it never did.

          Has this new synthetic replaced naugahyde (sp)?

          Reply
  5. Leather is a natural animal hide, and plastic is man- made junk that GM buys for pennies on the dollar over leather prices and wants you to buy for near-leather prices.
    It’s PLASTIC!!!

    Reply
    1. Its Not Just GM. as the article indicates, Everybody uses it. I don’t think calling it vinyl is accurate either, as Evotex has different synthetic components. Evotex is Clearly better than vinyl. European Car reviewers refer to the new material as Vegan Leather which it Clearly is not. You can still get Cow hide in Cadillacs with the Napa Leather option which is quite pricey.

      Reply
  6. I won’t pay for fake leather. I’ll buy aftermarket leather. OEM is always vinyl on the sides and back anyway. IVinyl always cracks and breaks first.

    Wondering if this stuff will be like all vinyl products?

    Reply
  7. I’ll take Evotex over cloth seats my Equinox has “leather” some of it feels like vinyl anyway, now my wife’s Buick has real leather people you get what you pay for a $35,000 car isn’t going to have the same interior quality as a $60,000 car. As for hot and cold I don’t complain about leather in the summer and in the winter I have heated seats and Beachy the Evotex is cheaper then real leather that’s why their both an option!

    Reply
  8. I have experience with Toyota Softex. I have had the usual OEM leather in many vehicles. Premium leather in a couple. SofTex and manufacturer grade leather is very similiar to the point that vamos beyond not know the difference

    Reply
  9. Many need to understand what “leatherette” really is. It is a fancy word for “vinyl” with a “lerather-like pattern on it”, all hydrocarbon-based. Not unlike the U.S. Roual “Naugahyde” vinyl of the 1960s, just not as hefty in feel or resistance to deflection. Basically, a modernized version of “vinyl” coated-fabric (as the GM Parts books termed it).

    ON the Cadillac CTS, the window sticker had something like “leatherette seating surfaces” on it for the standard interior. Modern Cadillac owners might not see the issue, but if that had been on the window sticker of a 1966 Cadillac Calais, potential buyers would have screamed “VINYL INTERIOR IN A CADILLAC??”!!!” and headed directly to Lincoln or Imperial LeBaron for a real leather interior as standard.

    It’s all a marketing situation, as if to justify cost-cutting orientations, to me. I DO laugh at it, though, thinking how it would have been in the 1960s.

    Reply
  10. “In next week’s mail bag”…

    What’s The Difference Between Evotex and Vinyl?

    (Hint: NOTHING)

    Reply
    1. Quite a bit, actually, if you read the patent…..

      Reply
  11. The question about the fake leather products is does it breath at all (doubt it)? Leather does have some natural breathability although small. And on many or all of GM cars with the fake leather they do not perferate it. MB does and it is comfortable. If you go to a MB dealer, u will find many or most models with MB tex. They charge much more than GM to upgrade to leather but at least their standard fake leather is perforated, unless things have changed in the last decade.

    Reply
    1. On the Cadillac Lyriq the leatherette is perforated. You can also get 100% leather for $3k more.

      Reply
    2. My experience with SoftTex after 2 hot summers is 1) it is no hotter and maybe slightly cooler than leather sitting in the sun and 2) no more sweat on back or back of legs than leather.

      I am old enough to remember vinyl seats in the 70s that got super hot and sweat would pour off you back in buckets even with AC on. The new engineered surfaces are not that. People claiming it is just like vinyl from 50 yrs ago are ignorant of the many advanced in textile engineering.

      SoftTex feels slightly harder is my only real observation. I do think it will probably last 500k miles with no stretch marks like leather

      Reply
    3. My Trax has perforated Evotex seats, it was $25K.

      Reply
  12. My dad (1910-2014) used to put clear vinyl seat covers on his cars. Talk about sticky! When he bought his 1963 Pontiac, he decided to enjoy the upholstery instead of saving it for the next owner.

    Reply
  13. It’s in my ZR2 – I actually really like it, zero complaints.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel