Launch of Autonomous Driving Remains to Use Mature Chassis-by-wire Technology
Chassis-by-wire makes it feasible to remove accelerator pedal, brake pedal and steering wheel, whose maturity has a bearing on autonomous driving implementations.
Critical elements of chassis by wire include: throttle by wire, gear shift by wire, suspension by wire, steering by wire and brake by wire. Wherein, drive, brake and steering are deemed as the crucial factors to vehicle travel.
Throttle by wire has been the first option for passenger cars, especially ACC/TCS-enabled vehicles for which such throttle has been a standard configuration. Promotion of drive by wire and steering by wire has suffered a setback due to a combination of factors such as poor user experience than conventional mechanical system for early immature technology, and difficulty in sorting out who is responsible, a result that drive by wire technology refers to regulation and control on the actuator by ECU. In recent years, boom of intelligent connected vehicles has invigorated drive-by-wire technology.
Brake by wire: Bosch, Continental and ZF leads the pack, while Chinese companies like Bethel Automotive Safety Systems Co., Ltd., Shanghai NASN Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. and Ningbo Tuopu Group are chasing hard.
Over a century, automotive brake system has evolved from the mechanical to the hydraulic and then to the electronic (ABS/ESC). For L3 autonomy and above, responsive time of brake system is of paramount importance. Faster response of brake by wire ensures safe autonomous driving.
Brake-by-wire system is bifurcated into two types: Electro Hydraulic Brake (EHB) and Electro Mechanical Brake (EMB). EHB is split into One-Box and Two-Box solutions based on whether it is integrated with ABS/ESP or not.
One-box solution already prevails:
- One-box solution with fusion of ESP into EHB is based on mass production of mature ESP. Considering performance and cost, Bosch, Continental and ZF are doubling down on One-box products.
- Chinese suppliers with first-mover advantage are expected to replace foreign brands. Bethel Automotive Safety Systems Co., Ltd., the first to have developed One-box products in China, plans to spawn WCBS products in 2020, close to the SOP time of its foreign peers like Bosch. Its WCBS integrated with dual control EPB is more cost-effective.
Steering by wire: intelligence spurs the industry but commercialization is hindered
So far only Infiniti has had steering-by-wire solution for mass production since its advent. In 2014, Infiniti Q50 packing steering-by-wire solution offered by KYB made a debut. Yet, in July 2016, Dongfeng Motor and Nissan recalled 6,840 units of Infiniti Q50 and China-made Infiniti Q50L in all because of potential safety risks posed by steering by wire. In current stage, Infiniti has four models carrying Direct Adaptive Steering? (DAS) solutions all from KYB.
On a global view, international tycoons like Bosch, ZF, JTEKT, NSK and Nexteer boast mature steering by wire technologies and products but they still hit a bottleneck in commercialization.
In 2020, the mass production of L3 autonomous vehicles is to quicken commercial use of drive-by-wire systems. Foreign companies with an early layout in China will have first-mover advantage. Throughout the Chinese market, very few local players have made a difference in drive by wire technology, with small business scale, but the importance of drive-by-wire chassis makes them an enticement to capital and giants. In 2019, Shanghai NASN Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. raised funds of RMB400 million. It is alleged that Huawei will set foot in drive by wire field.
Ecological Domain and Automotive Hardware Expansion Research Report, 2024
Automotive Ecological Domain Research: How Will OEM Ecology and Peripheral Hardware Develop? Ecological Domain and Automotive Hardware Expansion Research Report, 2024 released by ResearchInChina ...
C-V2X and CVIS Industry Research Report, 2024
C-V2X and CVIS Research: In 2023, the OEM scale will exceed 270,000 units, and large-scale verification will start.The pilot application of "vehicle-road-cloud integration” commenced, and C-V2X entere...
Automotive Intelligent Cockpit Platform Configuration Strategy and Industry Research Report, 2024
According to the evolution trends and functions, the cockpit platform has gradually evolved into technical paths such as cockpit-only, cockpit integrated with other domains, cockpit-parking integratio...
Analysis on Huawei's Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing,2023-2024
Analysis on Huawei's Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing: Comprehensive layout in eight major fields and upgrade of Huawei Smart Selection
The “Huawei Intelligent Driving Business...
Li Auto’s Layout in Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing and Strategy Analysis Report, 2023-2024
Li Auto overestimates the BEV market trend and returns to intensive cultivation.
In the MPV market, Denza D9 DM-i with the highest sales (8,030 units) in January 2024 is a hybrid electric vehicle (H...
Analysis on NIO’s Layout in Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing, 2023
Analysis on NIO’s Layout in Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing, 2023
Because of burning money and suffering a huge loss, many people thought NIO would soon go out of business. NI...
Monthly Monitoring Report on China Automotive Sensor Technology and Data Trends (Issue 3, 2024)
Insight into intelligent driving sensors: “Chip-based” reduces costs, and the pace of installing 3-LiDAR solutions in cars quickens. LiDARs were installed in 173,000 passenger cars in China in Q1 2024...
Autonomous Driving Simulation Industry Report, 2024
Autonomous Driving Simulation Research: Three Trends of Simulation Favoring the Implementation of High-level Intelligent Driving.
On November 17, 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Techno...
Mobile Charging Robot Research Report, 2024
Research on mobile charging robot: more than 20 companies have come in and have implemented in three major scenarios.
Mobile Charging Robot Research Report, 2024 released by ResearchInChina highlight...
End-to-end Autonomous Driving (E2E AD) Research Report, 2024
End-to-end Autonomous Driving Research: status quo of End-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving
1. Status quo of end-to-end solutions in ChinaAn end-to-end autonomous driving system refers to direct mappi...
Monthly Monitoring Report on China Automotive Intelligent Driving Technology and Data Trends (Issue 2, 2024)
Insight into intelligent driving: ECARX self-develops intelligent driving chips, and L2.5 installation soared by 175% year on year.
Based on the 2023 version, the 2024 version of Monthly...
Monthly Monitoring Report on China Automotive Intelligent Cockpit Technology and Data Trends (Issue 2, 2024)
Insight into intelligent cockpit: the trend towards large screens is obvious, with >10" center console screens sweeping over 80%.
Based on the 2023 Edition, the 2024 Edition of Monthly Monitoring...
China Intelligent Driving Fusion Algorithm Research Report, 2024
Intelligent Driving Fusion Algorithm Research: sparse algorithms, temporal fusion and enhanced planning and control become the trend.
China Intelligent Driving Fusion Algorithm Research Report, 2024 ...
Automotive Electronics OEM/ODM/EMS Industry Report, 2024
Automotive electronics OEM/ODM/EMS research: top players’ revenue has exceeded RMB10 billion, and new entrants have been coming in.
At present, OEMs in the Chinese automotive electronics indus...
Analysis on Xpeng’s Layout in Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing, 2023
Research on Xpeng’s layout in electrification, connectivity, intelligence and sharing: in the innovation-driven rapid development, secured orders for 100 flying cars.
NIO, Xp...
Automotive Cockpit SoC Research Report, 2024
Automotive Cockpit SoC Research: Automakers quicken their pace of buying SoCs, and the penetration of domestic cockpit SoCs will soar
Mass production of local cockpit SoCs is accelerating, and the l...
Automotive Integrated Die Casting Industry Report, 2024
Integrated Die Casting Research: adopted by nearly 20 OEMs, integrated die casting gains popularity.
Automotive Integrated Die Casting Industry Report, 2024 released by ResearchInChina summari...
China Passenger Car Cockpit Multi/Dual Display Research Report, 2023-2024
In intelligent cockpit era, cockpit displays head in the direction of more screens, larger size, better looking, more convenient interaction and better experience. Simultaneously, the conventional “on...