Around the world, car manufacturers and regulators are racking their brains to find ways to encourage drivers to prefer electric cars and abandon polluting gasoline vehicles.
Kia’s importer in Finland, Astra Auto, had a slightly different idea. To promote sales of the new EV4, which recently entered production at Kia's plant in Slovakia, the company developed a scent tree with a gasoline fragrance.
“Giving up the combustion engine can feel like a huge step, just like giving up any other familiar thing,” said Astra Auto Finland’s commercial director Klaus Pohjala in a press release. “We wanted to add a touch of nostalgic fun to the transition, with a car air freshener scented like fuel.”
The scent was created by Finnish perfumer Max Partola, who chose common ingredients from men’s fragrances and combined them with jasmine flower. To create the aroma, a base with engine oil notes was blended with metallic and mineral nuances reminiscent of a garage or gas station.