Sound helps people navigate through spaces. Our instincts are trained so that we hear whether a car or a tram is coming towards us, and which direction it’s coming from. But electric cars are almost inaudible at low speeds. That is why they emit a warning sound when they are in motion. ŠKODA Storyboard has already covered the E-noise system in the SUPERB iV.

The latest addition to the ŠKODA family, the all-electric ENYAQ iV SUV, has its own warning sound. These days, a car’s sound is becoming an integral part of its design. With electric cars, it will be increasingly common that engineers endow their creation with a characteristic low-speed sound. The latest sound was created under the direction of Pavel Orendáš and his team from the ŠKODA development centre.

Collaboration with composers

“The ENYAQ iV is an all-electric car, so it was quite a challenge to design a sound to match its identity. The sound was fine-tuned in the Volkswagen Group’s acoustic laboratory. One thing was clear from the start: it must be noticeably different from the sound emitted by plug-in hybrids,” says Pavel Orendáš.

Pavel Orendáš
ŠKODA development centre

The character of the sound was designed with music composers to suit the MEB-platform models of Volkswagen Group brands. The sound is compact right across the 0–25 km/h speed range and the sound’s character, according to its creators, is supposed to be emotive and highlight the car’s uniqueness. Right from the start of development it was clear that this time the sound would not be an imitation of the mechanical noise of a combustion engine. As you can hear for yourselves, the tones are much more electronic, futuristic even.

Tested on volunteers

The technical solution for installing the sound generator for the MEB electric platform is also innovative. “The wide-frequency speaker and electronics are fully integrated into a one-litre box. This design was given the working name OneBox. Above all, the solution made it possible to optimise its weight. For assembly onto the cooling module, three rubber bushes are used to ensure the perfect sound and minimum reverberation from the vehicle’s structure. The first testing in cars showed that the solution was the right one – the sound spread evenly on both sides in the front part of the car and created a pleasant, muffled reverberation in the cockpit,” the head project engineer explains.

Maybe you’re wondering whether this function, which nobody had even thought of a few years ago, is tested on people. “Yes, it is. At first the sound was tested on a selected group of people, and we also demonstrated it to the management. That was followed by measurement inside the cars and checking that the acoustic limit complied with the legislation. It was here that our colleagues from the acoustic lab did some great work. Getting a homologation certificate from an independent certifying institute was a key requirement for launching the new model on the market,” Pavel Orendáš concludes.