Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.’s pop-up hood ('bonnet' if you are British) actuator has been adopted for use on the EH7 from Chinese luxury automaker Hongqi.

A safety system product, pop-up hood actuators raise the hood in cases of collision with a pedestrian, lessening the impact on a person’s head.

Toyoda says the demand for such products are growing in China, with the introduction of stricter pedestrian protection regulations.

The firm has supplied pop-up hood actuators to Japanese automakers in China since 2018, when pedestrian collision safety assessments were introduced.

Toyoda has established CAE technology related to hood lifting to better respond to Chinese automaker’s development needs.

China is the world’s largest automobile market, and increased competition can be attributed to wider EV adoption and the rise of new automakers and cheaper models.

Toyoda Gosei says its strengthened development capability will enable it to meet customers’ needs in China.