The ESP® electronic stability program, which Bosch was the first manufacturer to launch on the market in 1995, is now installed in around a third of all newly registered vehicles worldwide. By 2012, every second car will be equipped with this system, which prevents up to 80 percent of all skid-related accidents.

Networking ESP® with other vehicle components and systems creates new functions that help make driving even safer. These include the predictive emergency brake, which is created by networking ESP® with environment sensor technology. A Bosch study shows that three out of four serious rear-end collisions could be avoided if all vehicles were fitted with this system. As this type of accident is particularly prevalent among commercial vehicles, the European Union has responded by mandating automatic emergency brake systems in new commercial vehicles from 2015.

Secondary collision mitigation is another new function. Networking ESP® with the airbag control unit ensures that the vehicle is slowed after an initial collision, thus preventing or weakening the impact of a second collision.