What does your car sound like? And what should it sound like? These are the questions Rashaan Josey is working hard to answer. Josey oversees a division at the audio giant Bose (the company is based in Boston, though Josey is near Detroit) that is developing new ways to achieve the ideal “in-cabin” sound environment in the age of EVs, which are forecast to account for half of all car sales by 2035.
Along with emissions, EVs significantly reduce engine noise, which creates new markets for Bose features such as stereo surround-sound enhancement and noise-canceling technologies. “When you remove the engine,” says Josey, who trained as an electrical and software engineer, “it’s amazing [to discover] how much sound it covered—noise from the tires, the road, HVAC, a rattle that was there that you never knew existed.”
Bose’s EV sound work started with stereos, in the Chevrolet Volt EV. The company’s sound engineers created a system with eight speakers for the Hyundai Elantra, then one with 14 speakers for the Porsche Taycan EV. In December, Volvo unveiled a 14-speaker Bose sound system in models of the new Volvo EX90 in order to create a “premium in-cabin experience.” All Bose automotive systems are custom-tuned with the car’s interior acoustics in mind.
Josey’s team also worked with GMC to develop a sound system in the 2022 Hummer EV. Its speakers emit electric propulsion sounds to mask unwanted noise but enhance good sound, whether it is your kids’ conversation in the back seat, the dulcet musings of your favorite podcaster, or important signals for the driver such as the beep-beep-beep of a nearby truck in reverse. “One of our core pillars is, ‘Hear only what you want,’” Josey says.
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