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Electric Volvo Trucks Get Unique Sound Signature

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Electric Volvo Truck in city center
Photo: Volvo Trucks

Volvo Trucks is adding a unique sound signature to its electric trucks to ensure that pedestrians and other drivers can still hear them.

The United Kingdom has a new law going in effect on July 1 that will require all new electric vehicles to emit a certain sound level while traveling under 12 mph. The sound must get louder as the vehicle speeds up, with a minimum volume of 56 decibels at 12 mph.


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The United States has a similar law that was meant to go into effect in September 2020, but was delayed to March 2021 because of the pandemic. The U.S. law is more aggressive, requiring automakers to add sounds to electrified vehicles at speeds of up to 18.6 mph.

At higher speeds, the noise produced by tires and wind resistance eliminate the need for artificial sound production, but at low speeds, the quietness of electrified vehicles can pose a safety hazard for pedestrians and even other drivers.

Volvo being Volvo, it went above and beyond simply meeting the rules and engineered an advanced acoustic system from the ground up. Employing acoustic experts, Volvo designed four different sounds that inform nearby people about what their truck is doing, such as moving forward, reversing, or idling. As the truck speeds up or slows down, the frequency of the sounds also changes.


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“We truly welcome this new legislation,” said Anna Wrige Berling, Traffic and Product Safety Director at Volvo Trucks. “From when we were children, we have learnt to rely not only on what we see, but also what we hear in traffic — sometimes so much so that we don´t even look before crossing a street! With our new alert system, we want to help ensure that pedestrians and cyclists notice when they are close to our electric trucks.”

Berling added that the electric Volvo trucks would still be significantly quieter than conventional trucks. In fact, the automaker engineered the sounds not to penetrate through walls, making them better suited for nighttime deliveries and enhancing the working environment for Volvo drivers.