Even the best suppliers can sometimes chase down blind alleys, particularly when trying to lead the industry with a risky new technology.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Robert Bosch invested over €150 million and several years of effort in electro-hydraulic brakes – a technology that now look like a dead end.
Bosch started work on electro-hydraulic brakes (EHB) with Mercedes-Benz in the mid 1990s. The product was introduced as Sensotronic Brake Control in the 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL, and had its first volume application with the 2002 E-class. Bosch will produce over 200,000 systems this year.
Electro-hydraulic brakes were intended as a stepping stone to complete electro-mechanical brake-by-wire.
But electro-hydraulic brakes have not taken off as expected. Bosch has not announced any other customers for the system since its launch – and its executives now say that most of the benefits promised by the system can be met by upgraded conventional hydraulic systems.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe estimated additional cost of up to €200 per car is not covered by the benefits the system offers.
“Nearly all functions can be fulfilled with proven hydraulic systems,” said a Bosch spokesman, without the risks and cost involved in new technologies – such as new callipers and a 42-volt electrical system.
Furthermore, the brake-by-wire systems that electro-hydraulic brakes were expected to lead to are now not expected until 2010, if then. In part that is because of the repeated postponement of 42 volts, another failed innovation initiative.
In fact, the most likely step towards brake-by-wire systems appears to be hybrid systems – where the front brakes remain hydraulically actuated, but the rear brakes are moved to electro-mechanical systems. One of the market leaders in this area is Delphi.
SupplierBusiness.com
