Twelve major Chinese car brands commit to ESC

Twelve major Chinese car brands announced today their decision to fit all new models with the life saving anti-skid technology Electronic Stability Control (ESC) from January 2018 onwards.

Besturn, Changan, Dongfeng Fengshen, Geely, Haval, Hongqi, Lynk & Co, MG, Trumpchi, Roewe, Senova, and Wey, collectively represent 85% of the Chinese manufacturer market, made the announcement at the launch of Stop the Crash China, which took place today in Shanghai and was promoting a range of vehicle safety technologies including ESC.

ESC, an anti-skid technology that can help prevent loss of control crashes, is widely considered to be the most important car safety development since the seat belt. ESC has been mandatory in both the EU and US since 2012, saving thousands of lives.

David Ward, Chairman of Stop the Crash said:

“Electronic Stability Control is a vitally important life saving technology and the Stop the Crash Partnership warmly welcomes this significant step from Chinese automakers. We are particularly delighted that it has been made during our campaign launch activities in Shanghai, helping us to raise road safety awareness with consumers across China.”

Yu Kai, Party Secretary of China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) said:

“This is a bold step by Chinese manufacturers, who have shown a real commitment to road safety by fitting this technology as standard ahead of regulatory requirements.

“CATARC is committed to continuing to promote Stop the Crash technologies and to save lives in China.”

The announcement took place at Stop the Crash, a Global NCAP led partnership which has been campaigning around the world to promote crash avoidance technologies. The event also featured three forms of Autonomous Emergency Braking, Motorcycle ABS, and Tyre Safety demonstrations.

Previous Stop the Crash events have seen similar announcements such as in 2016 when the Malaysian government announced its intention to legislate for the introduction of ESC on all new vehicles by June 2018, this following from earlier in 2016 when the UN General Assembly recommended that countries legislate to introduce Stop the Crash technologies.

Editor’s Note

Led by Global NCAP, the #STOPTHECRASH Partnership includes the ADAC, Autoliv, Bosch, Consumers International, Continental, Denso, ITT, Thatcham Research, ZF Group and the Towards Zero Foundation.

All are united in their shared commitment to promote advanced vehicle safety technologies in support of the UN’s Global Goals and the Decade of Action for Road Safety.