ESP stabilization system for a quarter century

Only in Europe did this equipment save 15 lives

Despite the abundance of electronic assistants, car safety is still based on three components. Passive systems include a three-point belt, developed by Volvo in 1959, and an airbag, which in its usual form was patented five years later by Japanese engineer Yasuzaburu Kobori. And the third component concerns active safety. This is a stability control system. As far as we know, it was developed by Bosch and Mercedes-Benz, who worked together from 1987 to 1992, and was called the Electronic Stability Program. ESP standard equipment appeared in cars in 1995.

According to Bosch experts, today 82% of new cars in the world are equipped with a stabilization system. In Europe alone, according to statistics, this equipment helped save 15 lives. In total, Bosch has released 000 million ESP kits.

The ESP stabilization system was created by Dutch engineer Anton van Zanten and his team of 35 people. In 2016, the senior specialist received the European Inventor Award from the European Patent Office in the Achievement for Life nomination.

The first car to be equipped with a full stabilization system was the Mercedes CL 600 luxury coupe of the C140 series. In the same 1995, similar dynamic stabilization systems, but with a different abbreviation, began to equip the Toyota Crown Majesta and BMW 7 Series E38 sedans with V8 4.0 and V12 5.4 engines. The Americans followed the Germans and Asians - since 1996, some Cadillac models have received the StabiliTrak system. And in 1997, Audi installed ESP for the first time on cars with two transmissions - the Audi A8, and then the A6 purchased this equipment for the first time.