Kia introduces gasoline-scented car freshener for new electric car owners
HELSINKI, Finland (October 21, 2025) Korean car maker Kia is approaching the transition to electric motoring in a novel, nasal way.
Astara Auto Finland, the importer of Kia’s cars into Finland, has developed a gasoline-scented car freshener that all buyers of the Kia EV4 will receive as a gift with their new car during the campaign, easing the switch to electric vehicles.
“Giving up the combustion engine can feel like a huge step, just like giving up anything else that is familiar. We wanted to add a touch of nostalgic fun to the transition with a gas-scented car freshener. Of course, this is a bit of a cheeky campaign, but we also want to communicate that we understand the change to be quite big decision for many,” says Klaus Pohjala, Commercial Director at Astara Auto Finland.
After being contacted by Kia, Max Perttula, the perfumier behind the scent, set out to create the feel of a heavy motor oil tone with the top note carrying compounds reminiscent of gasoline.
“I picked ingredients that are commonly used in men’s fragrances and in the reconstruction of women’s jasmine flower. It may sound wild that it’s jasmine of all things that contains compounds with a fragrance that creates associations with gasoline – probably not the first thing you’d think of,” says Perttula.
The share of electric cars on the roads is growing, but, as in Finland and Canada, the majority of cars still run on fossil fuels. At the end of June 2025, EVs accounted for 11.5 percent of the total in the Scandinavian country with just under five percent being fully electric vehicles and the rest plug-in hybrids. In the first half of the year, fully electric cars already made up more than a third of new passenger car registrations in Finland, indicating that the shift is well underway.
More than 30 per cent of the new cars that Kia sells in Finland are electric.