Katzkin Leather Makes Surprisingly Affordable Custom Interiors for Your Car

Have you ever thought of outfitting your car or truck with a custom leather interior? If so, cost was probably a major concern, but it really shouldn’t be.

It’s possible to upgrade your ride without filing for bankruptcy or raiding the kids’ college savings account. Katzkin Leather provides turnkey kits that can dramatically revitalize a threadbare cabin, add some luxury to a brand-new vehicle or even showcase your wild side with unique colors and patterns. They claim to be the largest manufacturer of custom-leather interiors on earth, having upfitted more than 2 million vehicles since their founding 30 years ago.

Tim Clyde, president and CEO of Katzkin said there’s no easier way to make a three- or four-year-old vehicle look and smell like new than with their products and, “[For] a lot less than going and buying a new car.”

Their high-end-leather interiors typically cost anywhere between $1,500 and $2,200, a total that includes installation, which can be completed in as little as 24 hours. This makes them a surprising value, especially since you can configure them in countless ways. Some 120 colors and materials are offered, from perforated trim to camouflage patterns, ostrich leather to alligator skin, contrast stitching to tooled leather, piping to custom logos, mild to wild, there’s really something for every taste.

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Additionally, upfitting a vehicle with custom leather is often cheaper than getting it from the factory because when new, automakers often make you step up to a higher trim level in order to get that sought-after material.

Not only does Katzkin cater to new-vehicle buyers they can also help drivers with older models as well, offering interior kits for some 3,000 cars and trucks dating back about 20 years. The oldest patterns they have on hand are for a mid-‘80s Chevrolet Silverado pickup, though the first kit they ever offered was designed to fit a Honda Accord.

Even though Katzkin’s products are affordably priced don’t think they’re merely seat covers. The firm’s kits are designed to completely replace a vehicle’s existing fabric trim, all with OEM-levels of fit and finish. Unfortunately, there is one potentially significant downside; this usually only applies to the seats themselves. Hard surfaces and difficult-to-remove components like armrests or door panels cannot be upgraded.

In addition to this, “We don’t do Mercedes or BMW,” said Clyde, since luxury models typically already have premium leather-trimmed interiors. Katzkin focuses on more mass-market products, vehicles typically equipped with fabric-covered seats from the factory, which means there’s plenty of opportunity for growth.

According to Katzkin, around 64 percent of mid-market vehicles are sold with cloth interiors, but some 90 percent of drivers want leather. This means there’s a surprisingly large opportunity for aftermarket upfitting. “We’re trying to get it to 100 percent,” joked Clyde. With stats like these demand is, not surprisingly, strong. Even though he couldn’t touch on any specifics regarding sales, Clyde added, “We do many thousands per week.”

Automakers have also taken notice of Katzkin’s work. Clyde said, “We work very closely with Fiat Chrysler.” In fact, they’re the official leather accessory supplier to FCA; their kits can be ordered directly from Mopar. They’ve also collaborated with used-vehicle retailers CarMax and AutoNation as well as aftermarket companies like Roush and Shelby. The Nissan Armada Snow Patrol concept revealed at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this year also featured a Katzkin-enhanced cabin, ditto for the Ram 1500 by Mopar and Jeep’s latest-generation Wrangler.

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Keeping customers happy, the company’s interiors are backed by a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty. And if you don’t like the quality, Clyde said they’ll “make it right,” though it sounds like this is a rare occurrence because he added, “People love the product,” adding that they often find it better than what the OEM offered.

Katzkin was founded about three decades ago by a brother-and-sister team, Mitch and Lesley Katz. The name is a portmanteau of Katz and kin, kin as in relatives (Get it? They’re related!). In 1985, they started making leather desktop office goods but moved on to vehicle interiors a year later.

Moving forward, Katzkin is working to get on more drivers’ radar. In the next six months, they hope to have a vehicle customizer up and running on their website, though this is taking a lot of software and work to accomplish because practically every vehicle has unique seats. But if they can create interior kits for thousands upon thousands of vehicles, this should be no trouble.

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