ECAS is one of the main trends in the development of the air suspension system industry
1. Overview of the development of the automobile suspension system industry
Automobile suspension system involves almost all automobile assemblies with independent functions, under the existing chassis technology, suspension system is indispensable for traditional cars and new energy vehicles, it is directly related to the safety, handling, comfort of the car, is an important part of the performance and quality of the vehicle.
Developed countries have always maintained a leading edge in the technology research and development and application of suspension systems. Passive suspension has limited damping performance due to the inability to adjust the damping of the shock absorber, and is currently mainly used in low-end and mid-range vehicles. Semi-active suspension, which can change the suspension damping, is a technology that matures in the late 80s of the 20th century, and Ford and Nissan are the first to apply it to cars and achieve good results, and then it is widely promoted. As a new type of suspension that brings together mechanics, electronics and other disciplines, the active suspension system has been proposed as early as the 50s of the last century, but due to the technical difficulty, after 2000, the active suspension technology has gradually matured. Active suspension mainly emphasizes that the suspension can actively control the suspension parameters of the vehicle according to the movement state of the vehicle and the road surface conditions, so that the suspension shock absorber is always in the optimal vibration reduction state and maintains the stability of the body.
The development of China's automobile industry has led to the development of automobile suspension systems and related industries and the progress of engineering technology. On the one hand, with the investment and construction of factories by foreign auto giants in China, foreign suspension capital and joint ventures have also entered the Chinese market, which has brought technology spillover effects to China's suspension system manufacturers. On the other hand, domestic enterprises have undertaken foreign orders by virtue of the cost advantages of single components such as shock absorbers, springs, swing arms or control arms, subframes and torsion beams, and in the process continue to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with foreign enterprises, learn and introduce foreign advanced production equipment and production technology, and rapidly improve the technical content of China's automotive suspension system parts and components In recent years, the leading enterprises in China's automobile suspension industry have begun to catch up and enter the stage of independent research and development. Major technological breakthroughs have been made in electronically controlled active suspension technology, hydraulic interconnected suspension, feedable active suspension, independent suspension and so on.
2. Electronically controlled air suspension system (ECAS).
Automobile suspension is the connecting device between the car body and the wheels, the main role is to transmit the torque between the body and the wheels, such as support force, braking force and steering force, and reduce the impact of the rough road on the body, absorb the vibration generated by the wheel movement, ensure the comfort of the car ride and reduce the loss of cargo transportation. For the traditional mechanical suspension system, the stiffness of the leaf springs, the damping force of the shock absorber and the height of the body are fixed, so the suspension can only passively absorb the wheel jump caused by uneven ground, so the ride comfort is poor. Equipped with sensors, electronic control units (ECUs) and actuators, the electronically controlled air suspension system (ECAS) can automatically and infinitely adjust the stiffness of the elastic elements, the damping force of the shock absorber and the height of the body according to the changes in vehicle speed, driving status, loading quality and number of passengers, without the need for driver adjustment, which greatly improves the ride comfort and handling stability. The distribution of the main components in the ECAS system in the whole vehicle is as follows:
Due to the constraints of cost, technology and other factors, the ECAS system is currently mainly used in large commercial vehicles and high-end passenger vehicles. China has the world's largest commercial vehicle market, and improving the economic efficiency, safety and driving comfort of cargo transportation has become a key focus area.
For a long time, domestic commercial vehicle ECAS products have been dominated by foreign-funded enterprises such as ZF and Knorr-Bremse, and at this stage, some domestic companies have partially achieved import substitution.
3. Electronic control and intelligence are one of the development directions of automobile suspension system
The intelligence of the vehicle suspension system mainly involves the electronic control suspension. The electronic control technology of the suspension makes the passive suspension develop in the direction of semi-active suspension and active suspension. The electronic control suspension system is a kind of suspension by controlling and adjusting the stiffness of the suspension and the characteristics of the damper damping or other components, so that the suspension characteristics of the car are adapted to the road conditions of the driving, and it is a new type of suspension structure type that the two mutually exclusive performance requirements of ride and maneuverability can be satisfied, and its working principle is that the sensor collects and transmits the data such as suspension vibration signal, vehicle driving state, road surface information and so on to the controller, and the controller according to the designed control strategy, The control signal is returned to the actuator, which adjusts the damping properties and elasticity coefficient of the suspension system in real time. With the rapid development of automotive electronics technology, the continuous enrichment of the functions of the electronic control unit module, the continuous reduction of the cost of sensors and controllers and the continuous improvement of accuracy, which provides conditions for the application of electronic control suspension system.
The development of air suspension system involves multiple subsystems, and the electronic control system needs to collect and process the signals of multiple sensors and implement precise control of components, which requires high algorithms and control systems. According to the "Code for the Design of Air Suspension System" issued by the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China, dozens of index requirements such as natural frequency, suspension damping, anti-roll ability, and anti-trim ability need to be considered in the development of air suspension system, and the acceptance criteria are very strict. At present, the electronically controlled air suspension system has been applied to commercial vehicles and luxury cars in European and American countries. However, from a domestic point of view, compared with the traditional passive suspension system, the electronic control suspension has problems such as complex structure, high cost, difficult operation and high energy consumption, which hinders the popularization and application of the electronic control suspension system to a certain extent. At present, the leading manufacturers that can provide a full set of air suspension systems are mainly Continental, Vibrator, Knorr-Bremse and ZF Friedrichshafen in Germany, which almost monopolizes the global luxury car market.
With the development of vehicle control technology, electronic control will gradually replace the traditional mechanical control, and electronically controlled suspension will become a development direction of automobile suspension technology.
According to statistics, at present, the air suspension penetration rate of the heavy truck market in Europe and the United States has exceeded 80%, and the air suspension penetration rate of the trailer market has exceeded 40%. However, the domestic air suspension market started late and is in its infancy, and the overall penetration rate of the industry still has room for significant improvement. On the one hand, in recent years, the sales of domestic luxury self-owned brand passenger cars have grown significantly, and the trend of Chinese consumers' consumption upgrading is obvious. At present, the air suspension has gradually penetrated into the high-end models in the range of 300,000-400,000, which is in line with the ** belt of independent high-end brands. With the trend of consumption upgrading and vehicle electrification, the air suspension market has a broad space.
For more industry information, please refer to Pricewater's Strategic Consulting2024-2030 Electronic Controlled Air Suspension System (ECAS) Industry Market Research and Development Trend ReportAt the same time, PwC Consulting also provides industrial research reports, industrial chain consulting, project feasibility reports, specialized and special new small giant certification, national manufacturing single champion enterprise certification, 14th Five-Year Plan, post-project evaluation report, BP business plan, industrial map, industrial planning, blue IPO fundraising feasibility study, IPO working paper consulting and other services.