Latest electric car may be too quiet

Citroën describes its latest electric vehicle as ‘triple zero’; a reference to the fact that the C-ZERO uses no petrol or diesel, emits no CO₂ at point of use and produces no noise.

The four-seater, automatic-transmission city car will have a top speed of 80mph and a range of approximately 80 miles between charges.

The C-Zero’s centrally-mounted 330V lithium-ion battery can be recharged in six hours via any 240V household electrical socket.

The electric car has its fair share of creature comforts and safety features including electric windows, power steering, ABS, traction control, ESP, six airbags and air conditioning.

The C-Zero is due to go on sale at the end of 2010.

Are electric cars too quiet?

Citroën makes virtue of the fact the C-Zero produces no noise and whilst this will be welcome to the many thousands of people whose lives are blighted by traffic noise, there are for whom silent vehicle pose a serious potential risk.

A charity for the blind has been working with sports car-manufacturer Lotus to develop an artificial petrol engine sound for quiet electric vehicles such as the C-Zero.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association believes that near-silent vehicles will put blind and partially sighted people at risk and wants the European Union to set minimum noise requirements for electric cars before they become widespread.

In a study conducted by the University of California, pedestrians heard a petrol-engined vehicle moving at 5 miles per hour three seconds before it reached them – by the time they heard an electric car, it had already passed by. However, those against the idea of artificial noise for electric cars argue that most car noise comes from the tyres and not the engine.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “When we test drove the near-silent Nissan FCV it was obvious that even greater care was needed around pedestrians, but it seems a shame that the artificial noise being developed for electric cars cannot be anything more imaginative than the sound of a petrol engine.”