WABCO Introduces Electronically Controlled Air Suspension Technology to Truck Market in China

www.chinatrucks.com: WABCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE:WBC), a leading global supplier of technologies to improve the safety and efficiency of commercial vehicles, today announced that it further expanded its market-leading electronically controlled air suspension (ECAS) technology – now branded OptiRide™ – to the truck market in China. As a result, China National Heavy Truck Corporation (CNHTC), one of China’s largest producers of heavy-duty trucks, has adopted WABCO’s OptiRide in series production on multiple truck platforms across a range of axle configurations. The announcement was made at IAA Commercial Vehicles 2014 in Hanover, Germany.

WABCO is the first and only supplier of electronically controlled air suspension technology for truck and bus manufacturers in China, the world’s largest commercial vehicle market. The company has already equipped around 40,000 buses on Chinese roads with its industry-leading OptiRide systems.

“Equipping our trucks with WABCO’s electronically controlled air suspension is a major differentiator for CNHTC in vehicle efficiency and driver comfort, reflecting WABCO’s continued success in adapting its technology portfolio to the specific requirements of the Chinese market,” said Cai Dong, President, CNHTC. “WABCO’s OptiRide technology helps CNHTC to offer lower total cost of vehicle ownership, increased fuel economy and reduced emissions to our truck customers.”

WABCO’s award-winning ECAS technology, the global industry’s best-selling solution for electronic control of air suspension, delivers fuel savings of up to 5 percent under certain conditions, while providing optimal ride performance. OptiRide also supports the gross weight reduction of trucks by replacing conventional steel-spring suspension, resulting in further vehicle efficiency.

Unlike steel-spring suspension, WABCO’s OptiRide enables lifting and lowering of the vehicle, resulting in more efficient cargo handling and operating time savings. It provides automatic load transfer to mitigate axle overload, which helps to reduce vehicle wear-and-tear and other operational costs. With appropriate axle configuration, OptiRide’s function for automatic load transfer improves vehicle traction and eases steering. In addition, OptiRide offers an optional function for axle load monitoring that automatically warns the driver in case of overload, which can further lower total cost of vehicle ownership.

“Our industry-leading OptiRide electronically controlled air suspension is already strongly differentiating trucks and buses and their performance on roads in China, demonstrating yet another first-to-market success by WABCO,” said Leon Liu, WABCO President, Truck, Bus & Car Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) Division. “WABCO continues to show an unmatched ability to anticipate the safety and efficiency needs for tomorrow’s commercial vehicles in different regions of the world.”

“Our Chinese customers value WABCO’s product development, engineering and system integration, resulting in optimal local solutions that advance vehicle safety and efficiency,” said Suije Yu, WABCO Vice President, Asia Pacific. “As the first and only electronically controlled air suspension system in China, OptiRide further differentiates WABCO as the brand of choice.”

Building on the company’s track record of more than 25 years of technology leadership in ECAS systems, WABCO’s latest solutions can be applied to truck, bus and trailer platforms worldwide, while also optimally adapting to any variety of axle configurations.

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