The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the progress of 20 automakers toward manufacturing passenger vehicles with low-speed automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems. This is part of a voluntary effort by automakers in collaboration with NHTSA to equip almost all new passenger vehicles with low-speed AEB, including forward collision warning, by 31 August 2023.

Ten manufacturers—Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo—are already installing AEB in all new passenger vehicles, three years ahead of schedule. During the period from 1 September 2019, through 31 August 2020, another four manufacturers—Ford, Honda, Kia, and Nissan—equipped more than 75% of their new passenger vehicles with AEB.

NHTSA estimates the agreement could make AEB standard on new cars three years faster than could be achieved through the regulatory process.

The success of the commitment can be seen through the data. There are about 5 million more vehicles manufactured a year with AEB than when this effort started. And while manufacturing of vehicles for sale in the United States declined by 23% this year due to the public health crisis, vehicles manufactured with AEB fell only 9%, illustrating that manufacturers did not falter on their efforts to increase safety through AEB.