AVAS – Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System

AVAS stands for Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, or Acoustic Warning System for Vehicles, and is designed to ensure the safety of pedestrians and other road users. Since the engines of electric propulsion vehicles are notoriously quiet, the AVAS emits sounds or artificial noises to alert others to the vehicle's presence. It has been made mandatory in Italy initially for all new homologated electric or hybrid vehicles starting from July 2019. Subsequently, as of July 2021, the requirement has been extended to all hybrid cars on the road. In Italy, the AVAS must be active when the vehicle is traveling with the electric motor at a speed of less than 20 km/h. The emitted sound is very similar to the acoustic signal of pedestrian traffic lights for the visually impaired and automatically adapts to the vehicle's speed, varying when accelerating or decelerating. Furthermore, it activates when the reverse gear is used.