New-car smell is safe

The smell of a new car – the leathery, plastic aroma that greets the drivers of most new cars – is not toxic according to a new study.

The new-car smell that greets drivers is safe.

A team of researchers from the Technical University of Munich tested the amount of volatile organic compounds - responsible for the smell - in new cars during conditions that mimicked those of a car parked in hot sunshine.

Jeroen Buters, leader of the research team said: “If you had the concentration of volatile organic compounds in the air of new buildings that you had in new motor vehicles, you would immediately get sent home.”

They collected molecules from the air inside a new car and a three-year-old vehicle of the same brand placed under 14,000 watts of light, where temperatures reached up to 65°C. They next exposed these compounds to human, mouse and hamster cells lines testing their in-vitro toxicity.   

They found no toxicity, but the air from the new car did cause a slight aggravation of the immune response that could affect people with allergies, but the same was not seen with the older vehicle.

Buters, who also works on the phenomena of ‘sick building syndrome’, said: “People are generally happier entering new cars than new workplaces. But another factor that might come into play is ventilation. If the smell is getting to you in the car, you can roll down your windows.”