To develop components, among others for highly automated trucks (HAD – Highly Automated Driving), a large Japanese vehicle manufacturer has ordered steering and braking systems from Knorr-Bremse for automation levels 2 and 4. They are intended for use in heavy- and medium-duty trucks for the markets in Japan, Southeast Asia and the USA. According to a statement from the Munich-based group, the contract amounts to a total value in the lower triple-digit million-euro range. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2028.
The order relates to the corresponding equipment for around 1,100 commercial vehicles, plus Level 2 braking and steering systems for the truck serial business, it says. Level 2 represents partial automation, such as lane-keeping assistants. At Level 3 the system takes control, for example in dense traffic or monotonous highway driving – typically limited to a low speed. At Level 4 it already concerns high automation, which includes autonomous driving maneuvers and hub-to-hub goods handling transports. Here a driver could still intervene. The top level Level 5 would mean completely driverless mobility without restrictions.
Knorr-Bremse aims to position itself at the forefront of the race for highly automated driving of trucks with its components, confirms Bernd Spies, member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Division Systems for Commercial Vehicles. Already now the company can provide Level 2 to 4 components for trucks that are capable of making driving operations even safer:
“With our experience in actuation we possess the necessary know-how to realize redundancy systems and thereby enable our customers for SAE-Level 4.”
That this
is possible was most recently proven successfully in the Atlas-L4 project, according to Spies. Wie berichtet, wurde im Mai 2025 das 2022 gestartete Atlas-L4-Forschungsprojekt beendet, in dem insgesamt 12 Projektpartner, darunter auch MAN Truck & Bus, den Einsatz von autonomen Lkw im Straßentransport untersuchten.
On this path, Spies said, they want to stay and continue the development project with the Japanese OEM with the same insistence, also in order to gain more market share in this region.
“The order is a great confirmation of our close and trusted partnership with the manufacturer. At the same time, this order is another testament to our excellent local R&D and production capabilities and also strengthens our market position in Japan.”
Now there is intensive negotiation with customers about the possibilities in the area of highly automated driving as well as tailored redundancy concepts. An outcome of this is the current order intake, says Nils Bielefeld, Managing Director at Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems Japan. The collaboration concerns both the L4 development project and the equipment of the L2-series platform, it is said.
1,100 vehicles will receive Level 4 equipment
Knorr-Bremse further reports that the ambitions to advance autonomous commercial vehicles – as with the Atlas-L4 cooperation – are taking place within the framework of a government-supported Level 4 autonomous driving project. A total of 1,100 trucks and buses will receive the redundant braking system rGSBC (redundant Global Scalable Brake Control) as well as the redundant steering system rAHPS (redundant Advanced Hybrid Power Steering) from Knorr-Bremse. The systems specifically developed for Level 4 are to be
deployed in heavy-duty trucks (HDT; Heavy Duty Truck) and buses in Japan as well as in medium-duty trucks (MDT; Medium Duty Truck) in the USA.
Several components for Level 2 platform
According to the company, Level 2 technology consists of components for a new platform. Knorr-Bremse has for this a serial business contract for the standard steering gear RCB (Recirculating Ball Steering; Kugelumlauflenkung) as well as the AHPS (Advanced Hybrid Power Steering; elektrohydraulic steering system). Tens of thousands of systems annually are agreed, it says. The contract also includes the braking control and air treatment systems GSBC (Global Scalable Brake Control) and GSAT (Global Scalable Air Treatment) as well as foot brake modules. These Level 2 braking and steering systems are intended for vehicles in the markets in and around Southeast Asia, including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Bremssteuerung GSBC
Knorr Bremse had in 2021 introduced its new braking control GSBC, which already laid the groundwork for future driver assistance functions and highly automated driving for commercial vehicle manufacturers. The development bundled several functions on a single technical platform, so that despite more functions the number of parts could be reduced by about half. The modular kit system also enables variants for the market. In the press release at the time, it said: “For vehicle manufacturers this means significantly lower adaptation effort. Whether it is the installation of a standard ABS for a tractor unit or an EBS with numerous additional functions for a multi-axle special vehicle.”
Redundancy, which roughly means “multiple safeguarded,” are systems for highly automated driving designed (for
example the braking system rGSBC) to offer even greater safety in virtually driverless environments. Redundancy architectures for braking and steering systems are seen by the company as key technologies for highly automated driving (HAD). Redundant actuation, as the company announced ahead of IAA Transportation 2024, will in the future be of fundamental importance even outside automated driving.
Knorr-Bremse counts as one of the world’s leading providers of commercial vehicle components among the drivers of high-technology developments and sees itself as a specialized industry leader in the field of its market segments. As a result, production of the most advanced truck components is accordingly adjusted. Thus, as a world market and technology leader in brake systems, it participates not only in prominent projects like Atlas-L4.
The 120-year-old company, with around 32,000 employees at 100 sites in 30 countries, is currently preparing its flagship plant in Niederbayern for the production of high-tech components. In addition, activities around the Asian continent have recently been expanded. In India, the group had already expanded its technology center two years ago, and only recently opened its own AI Center in India as well, which aims, with the help of artificial intelligence, to optimize global operations.
With the current order, the company not only reaches the entire Southeast Asian region but also strengthens its footprint in the United States in the area of future technologies. The company itself expresses its global standing with the following words: “Knorr-Bremse is one of the most successful German industrial groups and benefits from the important global megatrends: urbanization, sustainability, digitization and mobility.”
