Subaru releases new generation safety system

    Subaru recently announced that it will use its new generation EyeSight safety system starting next year, and on October 2nd, it first revealed details of the new generation of products.

    The new generation system adopts new configurations such as more powerful cameras, automatic steering assist, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, and strengthens the braking force of the automatic braking system.

    Industry insiders analyzed that the enrichment and improvement of the safety system configuration may increase the proportion of Subaru car consumers who pay for the EyeSight system. Currently, only 8% of Subaru car owners in the United States have purchased the EyeSight system, while in Japan, the number is 80%.

    Subaru said that the new generation EyeSight system will only be optional on high-end models. This is good news for manufacturers and dealers, and will guide consumers who want to buy high-end models. Naoto Muto, executive vice president of Subaru's parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, said that next year, Subaru will equip the new year model launched in Japan with the system. He revealed that it may be a modified Subaru Legacy.

    Subaru executives also said they plan to bring the next-generation EyeSight system to the U.S. market, but declined to provide a specific timeline.

    The next-generation EyeSight system received technical recognition from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on September 27. The agency also gave high marks to the automatic braking systems in the Legacy and Outback models. In IIHS testing, the two models equipped with the EyeSight system applied emergency braking from a speed of 25 miles per hour when a vehicle ahead was detected, and successfully fully stopped the vehicle before a collision.

    "Subaru has only introduced some high-end models to the U.S. market," said Toshio Masuda, Subaru's global vice president. "American consumers are not familiar with the EyeSight system and do not understand how it works. We are currently in the 'technical explanation' stage."

    Subaru introduced the EyeSight system to the United States in August last year. Currently, only the Legacy, Outback and Forrester Subaru models on the US market are equipped with the system.

    By comparison, nearly all Subaru models in Japan (except the BRZ sports coupe and Daihatsu compact cars) have been equipped with the system since it was introduced in 2010. Subaru has sold 150,000 vehicles equipped with the EyeSight system in Japan.

    The cameras in the EyeSight system are provided by Hitachi Automotive Systems and cost about 100,000 yen (about $1,020).

    The new generation EyeSight system's newly added automatic steering wheel control function, that is, the lane keeping assist function, has the function of keeping the vehicle in the center of the lane and preventing the vehicle from deviating from the lane.

    The former is a function that automatically controls the steering wheel to keep the vehicle in the middle of the lane when the vehicle speed exceeds 65 km/h after the function of tracking the vehicle ahead is activated. However, this function is not activated when it is inferred that the driver is not operating the steering wheel.

    The latter function is that when the vehicle is traveling on a dedicated road at a speed of more than 65 km/h, if there is a sign of running out of the lane, in addition to reminding the driver through the existing icons and sounds, it will also apply torque to the steering wheel to return the vehicle to the lane. There is no need to activate the tracking function at this time.

    The next-generation product has a 40% increase in the detection distance of the stereo camera compared to the current product. This allows the relative speed requirement to the vehicle in front to be raised from 30 km/h in the current product to 50 km/h when the automatic braking function is activated. This is achieved by increasing the number of pixels in the image sensor. In addition, the detection angle has been expanded by 40%, which allows pedestrians crossing the road to be identified earlier and the automatic braking function to be activated.

    Subaru's main purpose in launching a series of new safety technologies is to change its brand image - from an outdoor four-wheel drive expert to a family car brand that focuses on the safety of its owners.

    However, how to get consumers to pay for the additional technology costs is the biggest challenge at present.

    Jon Osborn, research director of JD Power, said that most consumers buy Subaru cars because of its excellent four-wheel drive performance rather than its safety. According to the company's 2013 preliminary quality research report, the quality of automobile safety technology is not the main factor for consumers to buy cars. Reliability, appearance, fuel economy, price, handling and brand effect are the main incentives for buying cars. JD Power spokesman John Tews has a unique insight into this. He said: "Part of the reason why safety technology is not the primary factor for consumers to buy cars is that they believe that cars should be safe, so they will shift their attention to entertainment information technology or fuel economy data.