Hamburg pushes for German-wide ban on artificial electric car engine sounds
Politicians from Hamburg's SPD and Green parties want Germany to ban artificial driving sounds that electric car makers add to mimic combustion engines, while keeping the safety warning system AVAS in place.
Electric cars are typically quiet, but many manufacturers add artificial driving sounds to them, sometimes designed to mimic the roar of a powerful combustion engine. While drivers can usually choose whether to activate this feature, people living nearby have no such choice and must simply put up with the noise, which not everyone finds acceptable.
German media report that politicians from the SPD and Green parties in Hamburg have raised the issue, calling for a nationwide ban on such sound effects in electric vehicles at higher speeds. Hamburg officials argue that one of the key benefits of electromobility is reduced traffic noise, and that this advantage should not be artificially undermined by added sound effects.
Safety sound stays
The proposed ban would not affect the Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS), which warns pedestrians and cyclists at low speeds when a quiet electric car approaches. This safety feature would remain in place. The ban would apply only to additional sounds that serve no safety purpose but are meant to create a sportier or more powerful driving impression.
The Hamburg initiative is not yet law — the city is seeking to have such regulation adopted at the federal level across Germany. If the proposal gains traction, it could pose a significant restriction for automakers, since artificial sound effects are already part of the design and driving experience for some electric vehicles. A key open question remains where exactly to draw the line between an acceptable driving sound and a prohibited imitation of a combustion engine.
