WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released an update on the progress of 20 automakers in manufacturing new passenger vehicles with low-speed automatic emergency braking systems). The installation of AEB is part of a voluntary commitment by 20 automakers to equip virtually all new passenger vehicles with low-speed AEB that includes forward collision warning by September 1, 2022.

Four manufacturers, Tesla, Volvo, Audi and Mercedes, have already met their voluntary commitment under the agreement - 3 years ahead of schedule. During the reporting period, September 1, 2018, through August 31, 2019, 12 manufacturers equipped more than 75% of their new passenger vehicles with AEB. 

“This is an outstanding achievement and confirms the accelerated deployment outcome we predicted leveraging a voluntary commitment by industry,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator James Owens. “Many crashes and injuries that might otherwise occur are shown to be preventable with this technology. It’s a win for safety and a win for consumers.”

During the reporting period, 20 manufacturers equipped more than 9.5 million new passenger vehicles with AEB. Manufacturers have made great strides in providing advanced safety to consumers compared to just 2 years ago, when only 30% of their new vehicles were equipped with AEB. 

Auto manufacturers report yearly through a submission to the Federal Register Docket,  making their progress status a public record. There is a standard reporting format for the number of vehicles manufactured during a set time period and the number of those vehicles that comply with the agreement. The first reporting was in the fall of 2017.

AEB systems help reduce the severity of crashes, or help prevent crashes altogether, by applying the brakes in imminent front-end collision scenarios. These systems use on-vehicle sensors such as radar, cameras, and lasers to detect an imminent crash risk, warn the driver, and even apply the brakes if the driver does not take sufficient action. At the time of the agreement, NHTSA estimated that the agreement would make AEB standard on new cars 3 years faster than could be achieved through the formal regulatory process. 

Percent of Vehicles that Meet the Voluntary Commitment

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