The ordeal of passengers in electric cars – experts explain this new phenomenon

Many passengers have complained of motion sickness since they started riding in electric cars.

Do you also feel nauseous in electric cars? With the massive arrival of battery-powered vehicles on our roads over the past ten years, many passengers are complaining of an ailment they were unfamiliar with, or barely experienced before: transport. Headaches, dizziness, the urge to throw up the last meal they ate a few hours earlier—this feeling of unease is a reality for a large number of occupants of electric cars. This phenomenon is no coincidence. Several studies explain the reasons for this fortunately temporary discomfort.

It's important to know that the sensations felt in an electric car are not the same as in the combustion engine, gasoline, or diesel cars we're used to. In a combustion engine vehicle, the sound of the engine and the vibrations provide clear sensory cues that help the brain anticipate movements. Conversely, the silence and fluidity of electric vehicles deprive the brain of an essential auditory cue to anticipate the vehicle's movements. Also, the sharper acceleration and especially the regenerative braking of electric cars, which slows the car down without perceptible jolts, disrupt the cues of passengers whose bodies are used to more jolts on the road.

Scientific research confirms this feeling: there appears to be a strong correlation between the vibrations emitted by electric car seats and the severity of motion sickness. Regenerative braking, typical of electric driving, causes a new discrepancy between the expected sensations and those actually perceived. This sensory discrepancy is considered one of the main triggers of motion sickness. To better understand this, the sensory conflict theory explains that the brain combines visual, vestibular (with the inner ear), and proprioceptive signals to estimate movement.

When a signal is absent or mismatched—for example, the eyes detect movement while the brain does not anticipate it—this causes motion sickness. This explains, among other things, why passengers are more vulnerable because they are passive, while the driver, who initiates the driving actions, is most often spared.

To address this problem, researchers and manufacturers are beginning to offer solutions. Artificial sound signals or low-frequency tones, such as a continuous 100 Hz noise, have been shown to significantly alleviate symptoms in simulators and during real-world testing. Adding seat vibrations or intelligent lighting in the cabin could also provide effective sensory cues to reduce the risk of nausea. In the meantime, as is already the case in combustion-engine vehicles, looking at the road ahead and avoiding excessive viewing of screens already help limit discomfort.