oSIST prEN 14906:2025

Leather - Leather for automotive - Test methods and testing parameters

This document gives guidelines to select the test methods to assess the performance of leather for automotive. This document also specifies the sampling and conditioning procedures of specimens.
NOTE   Regulations on chemical substances in consumer goods might differ from country to country requiring for any given market a special attention to restricted substances.

Leder - Automobilleder - Prüfverfahren und Prüfparameter

Dieses Dokument gibt Richtlinien für die Auswahl der Prüfverfahren vor, um die Leistung von Leder in Kraftfahrzeugen zu bewerten. Dieses Dokument legt die Verfahren für Probenahme und Konditionierung der Proben fest.
ANMERKUNG   Bestimmungen zu chemischen Substanzen in Konsumgütern können von Land zu Land unterschiedlich sein und erfordern für einen bestimmten Markt eine besondere Berücksichtigung verbotener Substanzen.

Cuir - Cuir pour l'automobile - Méthodes et paramètres d’essai

Le présent document fournit des lignes directrices pour le choix des méthodes d’essai permettant d’évaluer les performances du cuir destiné à l’automobile. Il spécifie également les modes opératoires d’échantillonnage et de conditionnement des spécimens.
NOTE   La réglementation applicable aux substances chimiques présentes dans les biens de consommation peut différer d’un pays à l’autre et exiger, pour un marché donné, qu’une attention particulière soit portée à certaines substances faisant l’objet de restrictions.

Usnje - Usnje za uporabo v avtomobilih - Preskusni postopki in parametri

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 23-Apr-2025
• ICS: 43.020 - Road vehicles in general
• ICS: 59.140.30 - Leather and furs
• Technical Committee: IUSN - Leather
• Current Stage: 4020 - Public enquire (PE) (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 06-Feb-2025
• Due Date: 26-Jun-2025
• Completion Date: 24-Apr-2025
• Ref Project: FprEN 14906 - Leather - Leather for automotive - Test methods and testing parameters

Relations

• Revises: SIST EN 14906:2012 - Leather - Leather for automotive - Test methods and testing parameters
• Effective Date: 08-Apr-2024

Overview

The standard oSIST prEN 14906:2025:2025, titled Leather - Leather for automotive - Test methods and testing parameters, is a comprehensive guideline established by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) to assess and ensure the quality and performance of automotive leather materials. It supersedes the previous EN 14906:2012 standard and provides updated test methods, sampling protocols, and conditioning procedures essential for manufacturers, suppliers, and buyers in the automotive leather industry. This standard emphasizes the importance of consistent testing parameters to support fair negotiations and sustained product quality in automotive upholstery and trim applications.

Key Topics

• Scope and Purpose

  • Guidelines for selecting appropriate test methods for automotive leather.
  • Procedures for sampling and conditioning leather specimens before testing.
  • Consideration of chemical substance regulations specific to various markets.

• Sampling and Conditioning

  • Sampling in line with EN ISO 2588 for representative testing.
  • Conditioning and preparation protocols based on EN ISO 2419 and EN ISO 2418.
  • Special handling for chemical tests as per EN ISO 4044.

• Test Methods and Properties

  • Fundamental Properties:
    • Apparent density, mass per unit area, thickness, surface coating thickness.
    • Tensile strength, elongation at break/defined forces, tear load, stitch tear resistance.
    • Adhesion of finish, bending force and stiffness, softness, flex resistance, abrasion resistance.
    • Colour fastness to artificial light, rubbing, perspiration, water spotting, and hydroalcoholic mixtures.
    • Fogging characteristics, formaldehyde emissions, resistance to flame spread.
  • Complementary Properties:
    • Colour fastness to migration, resistance to insect repellents and sun lotion (pending standardized test).
    • Water vapour permeability, air permeability (for perforated leather).
    • Soiling, cleanability, and other specific automotive performance aspects.

• Evaluation and Reporting

  • Following EN ISO 7906 for test sample evaluation.
  • Test reports must detail procedures followed and results according to referenced standards.
  • Additional testing information customized per customer or market requirements.

Applications

• Automotive Industry Use

  • Ensuring the durability, safety, and aesthetic qualities of leather used in vehicle seats, headrests, dashboards, steering wheels, gear knobs, and trim panels.
  • Facilitating supplier and buyer communication by standardizing performance expectations.
  • Compliance with regional chemical substance restrictions for consumer safety.
  • Supporting quality control in manufacturing and material selection procedures.

• Quality Assurance

  • Enables automotive manufacturers to assess leather for resistance to wear, fading, staining, and mechanical stresses common in vehicle interiors.
  • Helps in certifying leather components meet industry standards for longevity and safety.
  • Offers a robust framework for harmonizing testing across multiple European countries and global markets adapting related EN/ISO protocols.

Related Standards

• EN ISO Standards Referenced

  • EN ISO 2420: Density and mass per unit area measurement.
  • EN ISO 3376 & 3377-1: Tensile and tear strength tests.
  • EN ISO 11640 & 11641: Colour fastness to rubbing and perspiration.
  • EN ISO 17076-2: Abrasion resistance.
  • EN ISO 14087: Bending force and stiffness.
  • EN ISO 17226-3: Formaldehyde emission testing.
  • Others covering conditioning (EN ISO 2419), sampling (EN ISO 2588), and chemical preparations (EN ISO 4044).

• VDA Automotive Standards for Emission and Odour

  • VDA 277, 278: Testing procedures for volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
  • VDA 270: Odour characteristic determination.
  • VDA 230-205, 230-206: Loose grain effect and stick-slip behaviour in automotive leather.

---

oSIST prEN 14906:2025:2025 serves as an essential technical benchmark for the automotive leather industry, promoting product reliability, safety, and compliance with evolving market regulations. It supports manufacturers and stakeholders in applying unified and rigorous testing standards to ensure leather materials meet stringent automotive performance criteria.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-april-2025
Usnje - Usnje za uporabo v avtomobilih - Preskusni postopki in parametri
Leather - Leather for automotive - Test methods and testing parameters
Leder - Automobilleder - Prüfverfahren und Prüfparameter
Cuir - Cuir pour l'automobile - Méthodes et paramètres d’essai
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 14906
ICS:
43.020 Cestna vozila na splošno Road vehicles in general
59.140.30 Usnje in krzno Leather and furs
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 14906
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
January 2025
ICS 59.140.30 Will supersede EN 14906:2012
English Version
Leather - Leather for automotive - Test methods and
testing parameters
Cuir - Cuir pour l'automobile - Méthodes et paramètres Leder - Automobilleder - Prüfverfahren und
d'essai Prüfparameter
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 289.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 14906:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

prEN 14906:2025 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 General principles . 7
4.1 General. 7
4.2 Sampling . 7
4.3 Conditioning and sample preparation . 7
4.4 Evaluation of test samples . 7
5 List of test methods . 7
6 Test reports . 10
Bibliography . 11

prEN 14906:2025 (E)
European foreword
This document (prEN 14906:2025) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 289 “Leather”,
the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document will supersede EN 14906:2012.
EN 14906:2025 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 14906:2012:
— update of normative references;
— update of tables.
prEN 14906:2025 (E)
Introduction
This document was prepared by CEN/TC 289 “Leather” in order to provide the leather and the
automotive industries with methods to be used for testing on which sellers and buyers can base their
specifications and negotiations.
prEN 14906:2025 (E)
1 Scope
This document gives guidelines to select the test methods to assess the performance of leather for
automotive. This document also specifies the sampling and conditioning procedures of specimens.
NOTE Regulations on chemical substances in consumer goods might differ from country to country requiring
for any given market a special attention to restricted substances.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 15987, Leather — Terminology — Key definitions for the leather trade
EN 20105-A02, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part A02: Grey scale for assessing change in colour
(ISO 105-A02)
EN ISO 105-B06, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part B06: Colour fastness and ageing to artificial
light at high temperatures: Xenon arc fading lamp test (ISO 105-B06)
EN ISO 2418, Leather — Chemical, physical, mechanical and fastness tests — Position and preparation of
specimens for testing (ISO 2418)
EN ISO 2419, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Specimen and test piece conditioning
(ISO 2419)
EN ISO 2420, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Determination of apparent density and mass
per unit area (ISO 2420)
EN ISO 2588, Leather — Sampling — Number of items for a gross sample (ISO 2588)
EN ISO 2589, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Determination of thickness (ISO 2589)
EN ISO 3376, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Determination of tensile strength and
percentage elongation (ISO 3376)
EN ISO 3377-1, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Determination of tear load — Part 1: Single
edge tear (ISO 3377-1)
EN ISO 4044, Leather — Chemical tests — Preparation of chemical test samples (ISO 4044)
EN ISO 5402-1, Leather — Determination of flex resistance — Part 1: Flexometer method (ISO 5402-1)
EN ISO 7906, Leather — Tests for colour fastness — General principles of testing (ISO 7906)
prEN ISO 7979, Leather — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to hydroalcoholic mixtures
(ISO 7979)
EN ISO 9237, Textiles — Determination of permeability of fabrics to air (ISO 9237)

Under preparation
prEN 14906:2025 (E)
EN ISO 11640, Leather — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to cycles of to-and-fro rubbing
(ISO 11640)
EN ISO 11641, Leather — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to perspiration (ISO 11641)
EN ISO 11644, Leather — Test for adhesion of finish (ISO 11644)
EN ISO 14087, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Deter
...