Subjective Development of EV Propulsion Noise to Drive Product Differentiation

The frequency and amplitude content of powertrain noise is motor torque and speed dependent and tends to influence the driver’s subjective perception of the vehicle. This provides manufacturers with an opportunity to drive product differentiation through consideration of powertrain noise in early stages of the development cycles for electric vehicles (EVs). This paper focuses on the evaluation of customer preference and perception of acoustic feedback from different powertrain design options based on targeted powertrain orders and expected wind and road masking during high acceleration maneuvers. A jury study is used to explore customer feedback to a two-stage gearbox design with AC permanent magnet motor order combinations. The subjective influence of order spacing, dominant frequency content and the number of audible orders is studied to understand aural perspective product differentiation opportunities.