SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyundai Mobis (KRX 012330) succeeded in developing the electronic parking brakes for large pickup trucks (eDIH: electronic Drum in Hat) that has never been applied before in the global market, and it is expected to preempt the market.
On August 29, Hyundai Mobis announced that it recently completed the development of eDIH that improves the parking braking force of large pickup trucks, and is accelerating its pace in applying it to mass production.
‘e-DIH’ is a kind of what is commonly known as EPB (electronic parking brakes). EPB is usually divided into the caliper-based MOC (Motor on Caliper) and the drum-type eDIH depending on how it works. Caliper-based MOC is installed in passenger cars and RVs in most cases. Hyundai Mobis began to mass-produce the MOC back in 2011 and is now being applied to various models including K7 and LF Sonata.
Unlike the MOC, the DIH is a ‘drum-type’ parking brake. The mechanical parking brake using cables was changed into one with an electronically controlled motor, which is eDIH. It is applied mostly to large vehicles like trucks and buses that are heavy and have a greater loading capacity, and thus require greater braking force. As the passenger car and RV market is much larger, eDIH is both a niche and a blue ocean market as it has never been applied to large pickups before.
The eDIH, developed by Hyundai Mobis, is particularly suited for large pickup trucks. Of course, it can also be applied to passenger cars, commercial vehicles and general pickup trucks. Until now, some global companies developed eDIH, but none of them optimized it to the specifications of large pickup trucks. Hyundai Mobis increased the parking braking force by 1.5 times compared to existing mechanical parking brakes (side/foot brakes), and as it integrated some parts into an all-in-one unit, it reduced the size by about 30% and saved costs.
Considering the market environment, the development of this new technology is significant in that Hyundai Mobis secured advanced technology for preempting the global electronic parking brake market for pickup trucks. Hyundai Mobis is expected to capitalize on its technological advantage in eDIH to further lower the entry barrier of global automakers.
The pickup truck market is primarily formed around North America. According to the market research institution HIS, the size of the North American pickup truck market is estimated to be about 3.8 million this year and more than 20% of them are large pickup trucks to which eDIH can be applied. All large pickups are still using the mechanical DIH and none of them are using eDIH.
Hyundai Mobis forecasts that the eDIH market will be opened in earnest before long. Accordingly, it is planning to win orders for the new eDIH for large pickup trucks as well as existing caliper-based MOC types, and aggressively penetrate the North American market. In addition, it is going to use eDIH to further reinforce the trust relationship with North American automakers, and thus obtain more orders for other parts.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Mobis is supplying various parts, such as (chassis) modules, lamps, ICS (Integrated Center Stack), DIH, and other electronic components, to American automakers, and is operating 2 separate chassis module factories to cater to them.
[Glossary]
- e-DIH: electronic-Drum In Hat. Electronic parking brakes suitable for large pickups
- EPB: Electronic Parking Brake
- MOC: Motor On Caliper. Caliper-based electronic parking brakes
- DIH: Drum In Hat. Drum-type parking brakes
- Large pickup truck: It refers to the Heavy Duty/Ultra Heavy Duty model. The North American pickup truck market is classified into the Mid–size /Full-size/ Heavy Duty/Ultra Heavy Duty Pick-up depending on the weight and dimensions of the vehicle.
