VW Standardizes Emergency Braking on European Vans

Volkswagen AG’s commercial vehicles unit will provide automatic emergency braking (AEB) as a standard feature on all of the vans it sells in Europe, beginning next month.

The initiative, which the company claims is an industry first, covers VW’s Caddy, Crafter and Transporter models. VW already provides standard AEB throughout its car lineup in Europe.

Using a variety of sensors, AEB can detect and alert drivers of an imminent collision, then automatically apply the brakes as needed. Some automatic braking systems are designed to bring a vehicle to a halt to avoid colliding with the vehicle it is following. Other systems aim to reduce the damage of a front-end crash when the driver fails to hit the brakes quickly enough. It isn’t clear which technology the VW vans will get.

Europe’s latest crash test standards require a vehicle to have an effective AEB system for it to receive the maximum score. In the U.S., more than 20 carmakers have agreed to install AEB on most vehicles by September 2022.