Car companies think fake vroom vroom sounds will make you want an electric car

• Some car companies think that fake engine noises will get drivers to consider going electric. 
• Hyundai and Dodge have both unveiled EVs that blast fake exhaust noises outside the car. 
• Electric cars are inherently quiet. 

A recent video introducing the world to Hyundai’s latest performance car shows the new Ioniq 5 N tearing around a racetrack and through city streets, all while vroom-vrooming loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood. Typical car-ad stuff.

The clip wouldn’t be all that strange — if the Ioniq 5 N had an engine. 

But Hyundai’s sporty new SUV is electric, so it’s inherently silent. And the sound is all fake, generated by 10 internal and external speakers to mimic the combustion-engine experience. Hyundai and some other manufacturers are betting that drivers are more likely to get on board with electric cars if they sound and feel just like the gas-powered ones they’re leaving behind. 

On top of three different sound themes, during driving the Ioniq 5 N simulates the building and jolting sensation of gear shifts. That’s even though it, like nearly all EVs, only has a single gear. Hyundai hopes the combination will offer a more engaging driving experience and help buyers feel right at home despite the new fuel source. 

(Drivers can also turn off the noise entirely for a more pure EV experience.) 

Dodge, which is phasing out its thunderous, gas-powered muscle cars and preparing for an electric future, is making similar moves. Last year, the brand showed off an electric concept car with a multi-speed transmission and a phony exhaust sound that mimics a supercharged V8 engine. It said the exhaust clocks in at 126 decibels, making it nearly as noisy as a jet engine.

The brand itself acknowledged how wild an idea this is in a press release: “While most BEVs embrace their virtually silent electric motors, that just wouldn’t do for Dodge … Yes, Dodge added an exhaust to an electric vehicle.”

Toyota is working on a simulated stick shift for EVs that will let drivers pretend to manually shift gears. The system may even stall out if drivers fumble a shift, a Toyota spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. EVs don’t need multi-speed transmissions like regular cars do, so this would be just for fun. 

“Automakers are responding to some enthusiasts’ worries that electric cars have no soul,” Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at AutoPacific, an automotive research and consulting firm, told Insider. 

But, he said, things like artificial engine roars and unnecessary transmissions probably won’t catch on long term. Buyers love quiet cars and can be repelled by fake stuff, he said. 

“I don’t know that 10 years from now we’ll still be seeing this,” he said. “In the end, I think many drivers seek an experience that’s authentic and real.” 

Food for thought: Maybe blasting fake engine noises onto the street won’t be a big selling point for EVs, but what if it could keep pedestrians safer?

Research has shown that pedestrians are more likely to misjudge the speed and distance of a quiet, oncoming EV than an approaching gas vehicle. Perhaps giving EVs the acoustic signature of conventional cars could close the gap.