Scent is a primary facet of the modern luxury experience, and some of the most haughty automakers, of course, have injected personalized perfumes into their vehicles. Bentley, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Genesis have all experimented with signature scents. Now, a new study suggests there is some scientific merit to the automotive sensory experience—not in terms of luxuriousness, but safety.
As brought to broader attention by Axios, group of researchers in Chengdu, China, believes that olfactory stimulation could be a solution to drowsy or distracted driving. Driving requires active input from all of our senses, and smell plays a role in alertness. The study, which was published in November 2025, alleges that certain scents are effective in calming or stimulating drivers. This sensory experiment could serve as a stepping stone for further advanced driver assistance systems, the study claims.
Bentley
But which scents are actually effective? Titled “Cognitive activation and emotional regulation effects of olfactory intervention in the context of advanced driver assistance systems,” the study explains that peppermint produced the largest reduction in reaction time, and made drivers more alert. Bergamot was also effective in soothing stressed-out drivers in complex metropolitan traffic situations.
“Moreover, olfactory interventions exhibit significant context dependence across driving settings. In urban driving, characterized by high information density, bergamot more effectively suppressed low-frequency electroencephalography indices and reduced variability, whereas peppermint sometimes increased variability. In highway driving, which is monotony-prone, peppermint sustained vigilance and reduced attentional drift,” the study reads.
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The conditions of the test were as follows: 34 licensed drivers were put through simulated driving situations in urban and highway conditions, with three different odor conditions present. The baseline was a simple in-car smell, while peppermint and bergamot represented the additions.
This test only scratches the surface of how olfactory conditions can affect driver attention, both in the spread of smells and available driving conditions, and a single study doesn’t mean the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or automakers are going to rush to implement olfactory standards. Even so, the olfactory effect is worth further investigation as it relates to driver awareness, especially in an age of semi-autonomous vehicles and increased cell phone use. Peppermint could be the difference between a drowsy driving accident and getting home safe.
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