Fifteen Automakers Reach Automatic Braking Goals this Year

DETROIT (AP) — Fifteen automakers have made life-saving automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all of their new passenger vehicles in the U.S. this year, fulfilling a voluntary commitment made six years ago.

That leaves five companies — General Motors, Porsche, Jaguar/Land Rover, Kia and Maserati — still needing to meet the pledge by Aug. 31, 2023, the end of the current model year.

Audi, BMW, Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Acura, Hyundai/Genesis, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan/Infiniti, Stellantis, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota/Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo all hit the target, according to data collected by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Automatic Emergency Braking can detect objects in the way and stop or slow a vehicle, preventing a crash or making it less severe. IIHS said that the systems have to earn the institute’s advanced rating, slowing a vehicle by at least 10 mph in either the 12 mph or 25 mph test, or by 5 mph in both tests.

The automakers’ commitment will prevent 42,000 crashes and 20,000 injuries by 2025, according to IIHS estimates. Institute research has found that vehicles with both forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking cut the number of rear crashes in half.

General Motors, the nation’s top automaker by sales, reported that 73% of its models had the technology at the end of the 2022 model year. But a spokesman said GM would hit 98% by the end of the current model year, barring supply chain issues.

Kia reached 94% for the 2022 model year. Jaguar-Land Rover and Porsche made substantial progress as well, with about three-quarters of their new vehicles equipped with the system. Maserati dropped 1 percentage point to 71%, the IIHS said.

Maserati said its entire lineup now has AEB standard for the 2023 model year. The data analyzed by IIHS is based on production from the model year that ended last August, the automaker said.

Messages were left seeking comment from Kia, Jaguar-Land Rover and Porsche.

The 20 automakers pledged in 2016 to make the braking systems standard on most of their new models in an agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and IIHS. NHTSA, the U.S. government’s road safety agency, is in the process of requiring the systems on new passenger vehicles.

Automakers also have agreed to make automatic emergency braking standard on larger vehicles, mainly heavy-duty trucks weighing 8,501 to 10,000 pounds, by the model year that starts in September of 2025.