This study gives an overview of the temporary status of market penetration and coverage of eleven priority eSafety systems in all EU member states plus Norway and Switzerland in 2005 and 2007. The main difficulty in such a study is that currently no database is collecting such data. Therefore, the study has to depend on the help of automotive manufacturers by providing the necessary data. But there are reasons like company policy and strategy which did not allow publishing the relevant data. The most safety systems are introduced on the market in the span of 1999 to 2007. Only Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has been on the market since 1995. The market penetration of ESC is 43% by newly registered cars in Europe in 2006. The other safety systems like Blind Spot Monitoring or Adaptive Head Lights have a very low market share in 2006. Most of the intelligent car systems are available in the high-end range cars and in the latest models, which means that they are not available for a large proportion of Europeans. The market situation of infrastructure-related safety systems depends on political and financial issues in every European country. For example, about 40% of the French motorways are covered with Dynamic Traffic Management (2003). Real-time Travel and Traffic Information (RTTI) is nearly available throughout Europe. The necessary on-board units which are mostly included in navigation systems are getting more and more popular in Europe. The sales market of navigation systems, which receive and operate RTTI, increases rapidly. Campaigns like ChooseESC! started to promote the potential of ESC in saving life. Also other campaigns from automobile clubs sensitise the citizens about the usefulness of safety systems. The CARS 21 High Level Group (Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century) of different stakeholders from industries and the European Parliament are working on defining a new integrated strategy for the sustainable development of the automotive industry in Europe. Some steps are done to enhance the market penetration of eSafety systems but there is still a lot of work before the aim in reducing the number of fatalities on Europe’s roads until 2010 by 50% can become reality. (Author/publisher)
Abstract