Why electric cars are making some passengers feel sick

Passengers are reporting sudden, severe bouts of travel sickness in electric cars, leaving scientists and carmakers scrambling to understand why these modern vehicles are triggering nausea in people who usually travel without a hitch.

For some, the experience is debilitating. Lola Baird, a 24-year-old from north London, never suffered from motion sickness until her boyfriend bought an electric vehicle (EV) two years ago. Now, she gets so sick on long drives that she has to ask him to pull over so she can vomit. "I started to put two and two together," she said, realising she felt exactly the same way when riding in electric taxis.

Why do electric cars cause motion sickness?

Motion sickness is fundamentally a clash of sensory signals. Dr Nicholas Hac, a neurologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, explains that our brains rely on three systems to confirm we are moving: what we see, what our inner ears feel, and the physical sensations felt by our muscles and joints. When these inputs conflict—such as when you look at a phone while the car is moving—you feel sick.

In an electric car, this sensory mismatch is intensified by several unique engineering traits.

The first is the eerie quiet. Humans are conditioned to associate the sound and vibration of a petrol or diesel engine with acceleration. Dr Irene Di Giulio, a biomechanics lecturer at King's College London, says that without these auditory cues, our brains are caught off guard when the vehicle speeds up, causing a sensory disconnect.

The role of regenerative braking

The second culprit is regenerative braking. When an EV driver lifts their foot off the accelerator, the electric motor reverses to harvest energy and slow the car down. If the driver is not incredibly gentle, this creates an abrupt deceleration.

To passengers, it feels like a relentless, jerky rocking motion. Carolyn Le, a 24-year-old from California, describes riding in her friend's EV through city traffic as "horrendous" because the regenerative braking makes it feel like the car is constantly stopping.

EVs also accelerate far quicker than traditional cars. This rapid transition forces passengers to sway back and forth, says Dr Hac, who treats about two patients a month specifically complaining of EV-related motion sickness.

What the car industry says

The electric car industry is divided on the issue. Vicky Edmonds, chief executive of the driver association EVA England, says the group's members have never raised motion sickness as a concern. She believes the nausea is down to individual driving styles rather than the cars themselves.

Mike Hawes, head of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, agrees that motorists quickly adjust to the different driving characteristics of EVs. He also notes that many electric models allow drivers to adjust or turn off regenerative braking to suit their passengers.

However, some manufacturers admit there is a problem. Chinese EV maker XPeng has told customers who suffer from travel sickness that their symptoms are "not your imagination" and are a direct side effect of how electric cars are engineered.

How to prevent EV sickness

While research into the phenomenon is still in its early stages, there are ways passengers can ease their symptoms:

• Sit in the front passenger seat and look out of the windscreen rather than at a phone.
• Rest your head firmly against the headrest to minimise movement.
• Open a window to get fresh air.
• Take travel sickness medication before long trips.

Prof Cyriel Diels, a mobility design expert at the Royal College of Art, says carmakers could also design software to smooth out rapid acceleration, or build in subtle seat vibrations and sound systems that gently signal to passengers that the vehicle is moving.

With zero-emission vehicles accounting for 5.8% of all licensed cars on UK roads by mid-2026, and a ban on new petrol and diesel models looming in 2030, finding a solution is becoming increasingly urgent. For passengers like Lola Baird, however, the easiest fix is simpler: she is holding out for her boyfriend to sell his car.