A century of automotive steering system history: EPS dominates the market

After hundreds of years of development, the automotive power steering system has developed into four categories: HPS, EHPS, EPS, and SBW. At present, HPS (mechanical hydraulic power steering system) and EHPS (electronic hydraulic power steering system) have been widely used in commercial vehicles, EPS (electric power steering system) is widely used in passenger cars, and SBW (steer-by-wire system) has the lowest penetration rate.

EPS dominates the passenger car market, while HPS and EHPS dominate the commercial vehicle market

From the perspective of China's passenger car steering system market, the penetration rate of EPS in China's passenger car market has increased year by year from 80.1% to 96.4% from 2016 to 2020, and only a small number of passenger cars use HPS and EHPS solutions. Relatively speaking, the higher the price, the higher the proportion of EPS solutions.

Market structure of passenger car steering systems in China, 2016-2020

Note: MS stands for Manual Steering System

Source: Zoss Automotive Research

In addition, EPS is the first choice for new energy vehicles due to its small size, low power consumption, lightness and flexibility. In 2020, EPS accounted for 99.91% of the new energy passenger car market share, and this proportion is expected to reach 100% in the future.

HPS and EHPS are widely used in most commercial vehicles, especially heavy vehicles, due to their powerful power and low price. In 2020, China's commercial vehicle steering systems are still dominated by HPS and EHPS, of which EHPS accounts for 40.1%. However, with the tightening of environmental protection, HPS and EHPS not only consume a lot of power, but also have the problem of hydraulic oil leakage, which does not meet environmental protection requirements. Their market share will be gradually replaced by EPS in the future.

EPS penetration rate of local passenger car brands gradually increases

Judging from the EPS penetration rate in the Chinese passenger car market, there is a big gap between the EPS penetration rate of passenger car brands in China and other countries. In 2020, the EPS penetration rate in some countries was as high as 100%, while that of local brands was 90.7%.

As environmental protection becomes increasingly stringent, local brands will gradually abandon polluting steering systems such as HPS and EHPS. At the same time, as the penetration rate of wire-controlled steering systems increases, squeezing the space for EPS, it is expected that the EPS penetration rate will turn from rising to falling in the next few years. By 2026, the EPS penetration rate of local passenger car brands is expected to be around 93.7%.

EPS penetration rate of Chinese local passenger car brands from 2020 to 2026

Source: Zoss Automotive Research

Multinational companies occupy the market, and local companies are struggling to survive

At present, the global automotive steering system market is mainly occupied by manufacturers such as JTEKT, Bosch, ZF, ThyssenKrupp, NSK, Mando, Hitachi Astemo, etc. These multinational companies have entered the Chinese market through wholly-owned or joint ventures, firmly occupied the supply channels of luxury and joint venture brand car companies, and penetrated into the supply system of local automobile manufacturers.

Layout of major international manufacturers in China

Source: Zoss Automotive Research

There are more than 100 Chinese local enterprises, but most of them are small in scale and weak in competitiveness, and can only supply the aftermarket. Several enterprises, such as Zhejiang Shibao, CAAS, Yilida, and Nexteer, have relatively strong competitiveness and can compete with multinational giants. For example, Nexteer and Zhejiang Shibao have entered the supply system of American, German and Japanese car manufacturers through their own strong strength, and have won a place surrounded by multinational companies.

Major manufacturers and car companies have deployed wire-controlled steering, and SBW has a promising future

The biggest difference between SBW and EPS is that the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the rack is removed, and ECU is used to transmit instructions. It has the advantages of fast response speed, flexible installation method, light weight and high collision safety.

SBW technology was proposed as early as 1950. After decades of development, it has been mass-produced on several Infiniti models. At present, there are still problems such as high cost, immature technology, and low user acceptance of wire steering, and the penetration rate is still very low. However, some manufacturers and car companies are very optimistic about it and have made efforts in the field of wire steering. It is expected that many models using SBW will be mass-produced in the next few years.

Layout of related companies in the field of online steering

Source: Zoss Automotive Research
 

Comparison of major steer-by-wire products/technologies

Source: Zoss Automotive Research

In addition, China Automotive Research Institute has jointly compiled the "Communication Protocol Requirements and Test Specifications for Wire-Controlled Steering and Braking Systems" with Huawei, Baidu, Schaeffler and other companies, which will help promote the development of SBW technology and its application in smart driving vehicles.

At present, the penetration rate of wire-controlled steering in China is very low, estimated to be only 0.1% in 2020. It is expected that the penetration rate will grow rapidly in the next few years and is expected to reach 15% by 2026. The development prospects are broad.

EPS is the key implementer of ADAS functions, and SBW is one of the key technologies for fully autonomous driving

The automotive steering system is closely related to the development of autonomous driving. Currently, EPS is the key implementer of ADAS functions, serving different levels of autonomous driving. The typical ADAS functions that can be provided mainly include APA, LDW&LKA, DSR, etc. But in essence, the EPS steering signal still comes from the driver, while SBW comes from the algorithm. Therefore, SBW can achieve steering control completely independent of the driver, and will be one of the key technologies for fully autonomous driving in the future.

At present, some automobile steering system companies have begun to deploy autonomous driving.

Automotive steering-related companies’ layout in autonomous driving

Source: Zoss Automotive Research