Bosch started series production of the ABS antilock braking system, laying the foundation for all active safety systems in the motor vehicle in the summer of 1978. The system prevents the wheels from blocking, meaning that the vehicle remains stable even when braking hard, and the driver can take evasive action. With its electronic control, the system developed by Bosch was the first solution to be efficient and reliable enough to be used in vehicles. The ABS function was further enhanced in 1986 by the TCS traction control system and in 1995 by the ESP® electronic stability program – and once again, these systems were Bosch innovations. In 2007, more than three quarters of all new vehicles worldwide were equipped with ABS. At world market leader Bosch alone, some 21 million braking control systems will roll off the production lines in 2008.

Now, two out of every three passenger cars in China feature ABS already. In Europe, the U.S., and Japan, ABS is now a standard feature in vehicles, and the ESP electronic stability program is increasingly replacing ABS in these regions. In May this year, the European Commission has submitted a similar ruling: ESP shall become mandatory equipment for all new vehicles types from October 2012 and for all new vehicles by October 2014.

Preventing wheels from locking had been a research goal since the beginning of the 20th century. Bosch itself filed a first patent in 1936. All the earlier designs for motor vehicles shared the same faults: they were too complicated and therefore too prone to failure, and they worked too slowly. The solution came in the 1970's, with electronic integrated circuits and the increasing potential of digital technology. After 14 long years of development, everything finally came into place in 1978: the system, known as ABS 2, went into series production at Bosch. In 2001, Bosch began the manufacture of the current ABS 8 generation, which has been modified and improved several times since. The currently most compact version weighs just 1.4 kilograms. All the systems produced by Bosch are manufactured to identical quality standards in an international development and manufacturing network linking all its locations. This means that most ABS systems roll off the assembly line in the region where the automaker is located – whether this is China, France, the U.S., Japan, Australia, Germany, or Brazil.