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Ford seeks patent to eliminate new car smell for Chinese market

Ford seeks patent to eliminate new car smell for Chinese market
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(CNN) - Some people like that new car smell but apparently a lot of consumers in China hate it.

According to the 2018 JD Power China initial quality study, upwards of 10 percent of Chinese drivers complained about the odor.

Ford is seeking a patent for a technique that gets rid of the smell after the vehicle is purchased.

The smell comes with the release of chemical compounds in leather, plastic, vinyl and adhesives, according to Ford’s scientists.

Ford describes the method for eliminating the odor as baking the car until the smell goes away.

It involves parking the car in the sun, cracking the windows, and turning on the engine, heater and fan.

That process expels odor-causing compounds.

The system is only available for driverless or semi-autonomous vehicles.

The car itself decides when weather conditions are right for switching on the so-called vehicle odor remediation process.

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