German company Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest manufacturer of components for the automotive industry, has announced that it will localize the production of its active braking systems for the Southeast Asian market in the Thai city of Rayong. The Rayong plant will produce anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) for distribution throughout the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
ABS, which allows vehicles to maintain traction by preventing the wheels from locking up, and ESC, which reduces loss of steering control, have been proven to be among the most effective safety systems in modern automotive manufacturing. Fifty-nine percent of all new vehicles worldwide are equipped with ESC, and in the United States the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that about one third of all fatal accidents could be avoided with ESC.
Bosch, working with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, is one of the pioneers of ESC development, with the first systems being introduced in 1995. Since 2010, the company has invested heavily in the Asia-Pacific region, where automobile use is booming but safety is lagging. Thailand is the 20th most populous nation in the world and, according to one study, second globally in road fatalities per capita.
"Driver assistance systems are an essential step towards eradicating road fatalities," said Bosch executive vice president Norbert Brosi. "Recent accident research points out that nine out of ten accidents are due to human error. Objectively speaking, therefore, the more automation there is, the fewer accidents there will be."
Greening's brake testing equipment is used internationally by leading automakers and meets the requirements of organizations whose standards cover most of the globe. We serve the Asian market directly through our associates in India and South Korea.