Market Challenges : Lack of standardization

Lack of standardization across regions is a major hindrance for the growth of the global Electric Power Steering (EPS) System market. EPS systems and their components are currently designed and calibrated according to different vehicular and road conditions across countries and continents. This requires vehicle manufacturers to design and produce country-specific variants of EPS to meet the local regulatory safety norms and driving environments. Having distinct EPS systems for different markets significantly increases the complexity, tooling costs, and spare part inventories throughout the supply chain. It also limits the cross-border trade of EPS components between automakers and their global suppliers.

Standardizing key parameters of EPS design such as steering ratios, force feedback algorithms, sensor specifications, and calibration protocols worldwide could help address these issues. A global consensus on EPS performance and safety standards would allow manufacturers to develop standardized or more modular EPS architectures. This would simplify the design process, promote design commonality across models for economies of scale and support greater global supply chain synergies between automakers, tier 1 suppliers and component makers. However, achieving unanimity on technical specifications across diverse national and regional governing bodies continues to remain a challenge. Differences in views persist regarding the priority given to factors like vehicle dynamics, parking needs, road conditions and climatic variations which influence EPS calibration needs.

Market Opportunities: Integration of advanced steering technologies

The integration of advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving technologies into EPS systems presents a major growth opportunity for the global market. As technologies like adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, autonomous emergency braking, etc. become more commonplace, the role of EPS will transform from a simple steering assist mechanism to a central component delivering configurable steering torque and force feedback based on vehicle dynamics and environmental conditions. This will allow EPS systems to work seamlessly with other advanced systems to deliver safer, more optimized driving experiences.

Systems with functions like multi-mode steering which can switch between different steering ratios automatically based on vehicle speed, road geometry, etc. will become mainstream. This will provide far greater steering control and precision to drivers. The demand for steerable front wheels on commercial vehicles is also expected to rise steadily according to estimates by the World Road Statistics database. This will require more sophisticated 4WD and all-wheel steering technologies to be integrated with EPS. Additionally, features like adjustable steering sensitivity based on driver preferences will enhance driving comfort substantially.