A global market review of automotive steering systems - Just-Auto.com

Chapter 2 The market Page 5
Chapter 2 The market
Market trends
During the last decade or so there has been a slow evolution in power steering
but recent engine-independent EHPS and EPS have marked a major change
in the technology. While EPS and EHPS have made inroads in Europe and
Japan, American vehicle makers have been reluctant to replace their proven
hydraulic systems with the more costly electric ones because they claim the
benefits are largely unnoticeable and the added cost unjustifiable to
customers. EPS systems began to appear in the late 1980s, initially in mini
cars. The key benefit of EPS is in the increased fuel efficiency obtained by
freeing the engine from powering the steering compressor, and demand would
probably be far higher if fuel prices in the US and Japan were as high as they
are in the UK and Germany, for example, where the fuel savings of EPS have
sufficient impact to offset the added cost of the system.
With regard to power steering, there has been a transition from hydraulic to
more environmentally-friendly electronic control systems, (hydraulic power
steering involves excess pumping, whereas electric power steering uses less
energy and is also lighter and more compact). The diffusion of electric power
steering is led by Europe, with its strict environmental regulations, as well as
by Japan, where small cars are common.
Electrically power-assisted steering systems are headed for the mass-market
worldwide, helped by their potential to save manufacturers money, reduce
customers’ fuel bills, save designers valuable space, and possibly save lives
as well. TRW believes switching to electric can save vehicle makers $5-10 per
car, because the units are quicker to install, eliminate complex set-up
engineering and have fewer moving parts. TRW’s EPHS module is fully filled
with hydraulic fluid and takes GM about 30 seconds to install and connect the
module to the vehicle’s electrical system. Delphi estimates its own system cuts
four minutes off the assembly time of a vehicle and reduces component parts
stocked from 15 to only two. Delphi also believes that its system can deliver
fuel savings of 0.21 to 0.41 kilometres per 100km, because it draws less power
from the engine. Electric steering could also be safer, as it still works if the
engine stalls, unlike hydraulic systems.
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