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Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announcement
ARLINGTON, Va. — Twelve automakers are ahead of schedule in meeting a voluntary pledge to equip nearly all the light vehicles they produce for the U.S. market with automatic emergency braking (AEB).
Ford/Lincoln and Honda/Acura installed AEB on more than 95 percent of the vehicles they produced between Sept. 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021, joining 10 other automakers that fulfilled the voluntary commitment in previous years. The others to cross the finish line early are Audi, BMW, Hyundai/Genesis, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota/Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Two additional automakers exceeded the 90 percent threshold. However, five of the 20 participating automakers equipped fewer than three-quarters of their vehicles with AEB.
The 20 manufacturers submit progress reports annually until they meet the target as part of the commitment brokered by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They pledged to equip at least 95 percent of their light-duty cars and trucks with the crash avoidance technology by the production year beginning Sept. 1, 2022. Light-duty vehicles are those with a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less.
“The final sprint these lagging automakers are making shows that a rapid rollout of advanced safety features is possible,” says IIHS President David Harkey. “With the Ford and Honda brands hitting the target, this essential safety feature is now on a huge number of affordable, top-selling vehicles.”
Though they fell short of the target, Mitsubishi and Nissan/Infiniti installed AEB on nine out of 10 vehicles they produced last year. Kia just missed that mark, equipping 89 percent of its vehicles with the technology. Maserati also made big strides, boosting its percentage of AEB-equipped vehicles to 72 percent from 48 percent a year earlier.
The voluntary commitment doesn’t specify phase-in milestones. However, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and Stellantis — the company created by the recent merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot — will need big gains to meet the 2022-23 target for light-duty vehicles. In the past year, they equipped fewer than two-thirds of the units they produced with AEB systems that meet the performance requirements of the voluntary commitment.
To view the entire announcement, click HERE.