The sound emission of vehicles is mostly discussed regarding user expectations and quality perception. In the context of municipal utility vehicles the aims are different. The noise emission of street sweeper vehicles and other municipal utility vehicles are a constant source of annoyance in public urban areas, both to pedestrians and residents, who are involuntarily exposed to this noise. The increasing adoption of electrically powered vehicles is a chance to reduce these disturbances. Unfortunately, solely replacing the power unit is not sufficient. Measurements and perception experiments within EBALD research project have shown that the noise of functional equipment is an essential factor regarding noise emission. The correlation between the annoyance ratings and the signal components showed that the sweeping unit (suction fan), the suction intake and the circular brooms are the primary sources of annoyance. These sources and their transmission paths have to be modified to reduce the annoyance of the perceived sound to increase the acceptance by both pedestrians and residents.