What is AVAS and why your new EV must beep from October 2026

Does your new electric car need to make an artificial engine sound now? Yes, if it is a new model type approved on or after 1 October 2026, and from 1 October 2027 every electric car, van, bus and truck on sale in India will need one too. The rule is called AVAS, Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, and it is now part of India's motor vehicle rules.

What the rule actually says

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified the Central Motor Vehicles 01st Amendment Rules, 2026 as G.S.R. 07(E) on 6 January 2026, after a draft version had been put out for comment in September 2025. The amendment says electrified vehicles of category M, which covers cars, vans and buses built to carry people, and category N, which covers trucks and other goods vehicles, must fit an AVAS that meets the audibility requirements of AIS 173, until BIS notifies its own standard. New models need it from 1 October 2026. Vehicles already on sale get a year longer, until 1 October 2027, to add it.

One widely reported detail of AIS 173 is that it sets a minimum audibility level and caps the sound at 75 dB(A) at low speed, so the system cannot be louder than that. The sound has to change with the vehicle's speed and reverse gets its own distinct tone. It switches on below about 20kmph, the band where tyre and wind noise are not enough to warn a pedestrian or a cyclist that a nearly silent EV is approaching.

Two and three wheelers are not covered. The same amendment actually widens some paperwork exemptions for L5 and L7 category vehicles, e-rickshaws and e-carts, which is the opposite direction. So your electric scooter or e-rickshaw does not need a speaker under this rule.

Which cars in India already have it

You do not have to wait for the deadline to see AVAS in showrooms. ARAI has confirmed several electric cars sold in India already carry it: the MG Comet EV, Hyundai Creta Electric, Tata Curvv EV, Tata Harrier EV, Mahindra XEV 9e and Mahindra BE 6. If you own one of these, the low speed hum you hear reversing out of a basement parking spot is this exact system at work, not a defect.

What to check if you are buying or already own an EV

Compliance is verified at type approval under Rule 126, and again at registration and fitness checks, with the result recorded in the vehicle's Form 22. If you are booking a new electric car launched after October 2026, it is reasonable to ask the dealer to confirm AVAS is listed on the type approval and Form 22. Manufacturers that sell non compliant new models can face action under Section 182A of the Motor Vehicles Act, though the reports reviewed for this story did not spell out a penalty amount. Do not get a workshop to disable the speaker or fit an aftermarket horn in its place. That is not a certified AVAS and would put the car out of compliance.

The Bengaluru and Karnataka angle

Because category M includes buses, this rule will eventually reach city fleets too. Karnataka's cabinet has approved procuring 4,500 electric buses for BMTC under the central PM E-DRIVE programme, a mix of 12 metre and 9 metre buses with 400 air conditioned units in the plan. As those buses are inducted and as BMTC's existing electric buses cross into their next type approval cycle, they fall under the same M category AVAS requirement as any electric hatchback or SUV, by the October 2027 deadline for existing models.

Sources

• Government proposes Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems in EVs from October 2026
• Central Motor Vehicles (01st Amendment) Rules, 2026
• Electric No Longer Silent. ARAI Mandates AVAS in Electric Cars
• AVAS Rule For Electric Vehicles: What Changes From October 1, 2026
• Bengaluru to get 4,500 electric buses, BMTC fare hike also on the cards