You’re in a parking lot when you hear it — an almost otherworldly sound, as if you are being summoned by aliens or angels. Then an electric vehicle rolls by.
EV sounds are becoming more common and varied. Some emit futuristic hums, while others sound more ethereal or replicate combustion engine noise. The BMW M sound was even composed by Hans Zimmer.
Listen to this playlist to hear the many different types of EV sounds.
Why the symphony? Unlike gas-powered cars, EVs and hybrids are quiet — so quiet that a certain amount of noise is now required for pedestrian safety.
Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems
Since Sept. 1, 2020, hybrids and EVs have been required to emit warning sounds using an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System or AVAS when stationary, in reverse or traveling less than 18.6 mph.
The minimum sound level is to ensure pedestrians, bicyclists and people who are blind or hearing-impaired can detect EVs and hybrids over background noises, according to a U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruling. Other nations have adopted similar regulations.
Manufacturers are able to choose the EV sound, and some researchers are testing the most effective noises.
The required EV noises are still quieter than what a gas-powered vehicle emits but are sufficient to provide a “heads up” to pedestrians, said Jeff Allen, executive director of Forth Mobility, an advocacy group for electric vehicles.
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Read nowWhy EV Noise Is Good
EV motors are about 10 decibels quieter than gas cars, according to GRIDSERVE, so the integration of artificial sound makes sense for safety. In fact, studies have shown a correlation between sound regulations and a decrease in pedestrian collisions.
Casualty rates for EVs dropped from just over 137 per billion miles between 2014 and 2018 to about 58 per billion miles between 2019 and 2023, according to one study.
Manufacturers are taking the rules seriously. In December 2025, Mercedes-Benz recalled 1,899 of its 2024-2025 AMG EQE SUV models because their warning noise was not loud enough.
Exercise Caution Around All Vehicles
Not all research agrees that EVs pose a greater risk to pedestrians.
While a 2024 study by researchers in London found that pedestrians are more likely to be struck by an EV or hybrid, research by the University of Leeds found the pedestrian collision rate to be around the same as gas-powered cars.
But no matter the motor, people are safer in traffic when they remain aware. All cars are operating more quietly, and there is no room for distraction.
“Stay alert and engaged as a pedestrian, regardless of the type of vehicles around you,” said Greg Brannon, director of automotive engineering and industry relations for AAA.
For more about EVs, check out AAA’s dedicated EV website.
What do you think of the different EV sounds? Have you heard any out in the wild? Tell us in the comments.
Last updated on April 7, 2026 by AAA Staff
Ellen is a content producer for AAA Northeast, covering automotive, finance, public affairs and electric vehicle news. She is a former newspaper reporter with experience writing for print and online publications about everything from higher education to sustainability. She recently returned to her native Long Island after living in Connecticut for 20-plus years, and has never met a beach she didn’t like.
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It’s interesting that our 2024 Tesla Model Y only makes sounds in reverse. Surprised there hasn’t been a recall for that.
As to the ‘stay alert’ advice….having nothing to do with EVs, but holy cow, are pedestrians in busy parking lots clueless! When I taught my kids to drive, I told them that parking lots are incredibly dangerous, counter-intuitively given the relatively slow speeds. Nothing but potential conflicts with abrupt maneuvers, a lot of backing up, pedestrians darting around, and shopping carts everywhere.
And yet….and yet, every time I go to somewhere like Costco, the pedestrians are walking 3 abreast, the little kids are running around, adults are looking into their phones, shoppers are bursting out of the exit and assuming right-of-way without so much as a glance either way….the lack of situational awareness is staggering. Yes, as a pedestrian you may have the right of way, and that will make a nice epitaph on your tombstone.
The sound is like an older space landing is happening. It’s non-directional and it’s useless and a very annoying tone. A blind person would just be in fear, not knowing what it was or what direction to get out of the way of it. Use a tone much more like a gas vehicle, which people are familiar with but distinguish it enough to be slightly different. It should be a lower turn, and be made directional if possible so there’s a cue as to where it is and where it’s going. It should be a variable sound, but not like space innovators, but suggesting that it may speed up personal slow down this current Noise gives no useful information except there is an existence of something unnamed and unavoidable that sounds otherworldly and of an unextinguished danger.
The sound is terrible. It sounds like outer space. How does that convey that there’s a car near especially to a blind person it’s also a very screeching annoying sound. Why not make a sound close to what a gasoline car might sound like only different enough to distinguish it. A blind person would think they’ve met a satellite. How would that tell them anything useful? It’s also a non-directional sound so it doesn’t give a clue how to get out of the way. Who comes up with these things? It should be a lower pitch sound anyway not an ethereal space invader sound I listened to two of them and both sounded similar to me.