Engineering the “new car smell”

"The smell of the new car" is a careful engineering experience that occurs from the chemical reactions and the degassing of the volatile organic compounds (VOC) sent out of the materials used in the interior of a vehicle. These materials include plastic, glue, fabric, leather and other components that release a complex mixture of around 50 VOCs because they interact and age, especially when heated during early use. This off-gasning process produces specific aroma associated with many new cars.

Authers make significant efforts to control and fix this smell under design and production stages. For example, some manufacturers appoint dedicated odor assessment engineers, who test different materials and test vehicles together under different conditions in the real world, including warmth, under different conditions in the real world, to ensure that the smell is nice and no more. These experts use their intense sense of smell to detect and eliminate any unpleasant smells, goals for a neutral but attractive scent that improves the general ownership experience. The goal is not to produce a fruit or musk scent, but to maintain a balanced, fresh aroma that matches customers' expectations.

The smell of the new car gradually fades because VOC spreads with environmental use and risk, usually reduced to about 20% each week. The owners of the car who want to preserve this smell, they can maintain cleanliness inside the vehicle by cleaning vacuuming, cleaning floor mats, shampoo seats and air valves. While some manufacturers have also patented to eliminate or repeat this smell, the unique mixture made during production made it difficult to copy properly with the aftermarket's air wife, and emphasized the complexity and importance of the "smell of the new car".