New Car Technology Takes The Stress and Danger Out of Driving, Thanks to Bosch Mobility

You may have seen the Bosch name on headphones and household appliances, from washers and dryers to dishwashers and coffee makers. But fewer people are familiar with Bosch in the automotive industry. While you may not see their logo on your car, Bosch supplies many components to auto manufacturers including spark plugs, windshield wipers, and electronic modules and systems.

As a major supplier of the brands we see and drive every day, Bosch strives to stay on top of innovation in the market. At Bosch’s proving grounds in Flat Rock, Michigan, I had the opportunity to put some of Bosch’s new technologies to the test, experiencing features currently available in vehicles on the market today, and features still in development for the vehicles of tomorrow

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I began the day by experiencing the craziest electric vehicle I’ve ever ridden in. Using Bosch motors and Linamar solid axles, Bosch created an electric version of a heavy duty pickup truck. The truck is a monster. According to the technician who drove us around the test track, the Ram 2500 makes around 1,200 horsepower and accelerates to 60 mph in around 3.0 – 3.5 seconds. In fact, the Bosch motors were so effective that the engineers had to tune down the power to 1,200 horsepower to allow the almost 9,000 pound truck to maintain traction. 

If you want to know what it’s like to launch in an electric heavy duty pickup truck, imagine an apartment building launching in to space. Alright, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was incredible to feel such a large vehicle accelerate at the rate that the all-electric Ram 2500 did—it truly pushed me back into my seat.

Perhaps the most incredible thing was the truck was insanely quiet and had a smooth ride. If you’ve ever ridden in a diesel pickup, you know that heavy duty trucks often come with a rougher ride and a lot more noise, especially from the diesel engine. Thanks to the electric motors, the truck was eerily silent. Just imagine that driving through your neighborhood picking up trash at 5AM. Nice, right?

Read: 9 Easy Ways to Add New Technology to Your Old Car

All vehicles currently produced with electric motors use independent axles. These provide a comfortable ride and are more than sufficient for passenger vehicles. However, in larger work trucks such as a 2500 series pickup, these axles often aren’t strong enough to support the heavy loads they carry or tow. In response, Bosch and Linamar have created an electrified rigid axle, which provides all the benefits of electrification in a heavy-duty package.

The motors powering the heavy duty axles are Bosch’s eMotors, which use silicon carbide systems. These are significantly more efficient than other electric motor chips. Bosch also sees potential for these chips in hybrid systems.

Read More: Electric Cars for Single Moms—Pros, Cons and What to Consider in EVs

One of Bosch’s major focuses in development is a shift towards “by wire” systems. This refers to a system that has no mechanical connection between the components, but is instead controlled by electric signals. Almost all vehicles on the road today use a “drive by wire” system. This means there is no physical cable between the gas pedal and the throttle body, which lets air into the engine to allow the vehicle to accelerate. Instead, modern cars have an electronic module at the gas pedal to produce the same effect.

Bosch has been working on an entirely new “by wire” system: brake by wire. More than likely, your car has a direct connection between the brake pedal and the master cylinder/brake booster, which controls the flow of fluid through the lines that make up your hydraulic braking system (on the left above). Bosch’s new system (on the right) gets rid of this physical connection, giving drivers greater control over the braking feel of the car.

And, car makers can specify three different levels of braking, all substantially different, from brakes that require a good bit of pressure to produce substantial braking force, o one that is so sensitive it nearly gave us whiplash when we tried it out.

One new brake system we got to try out was Bosch’s new brake control pad, which was outfitted on a Tesla. Instead of a physical pedal that moves when you push it, this brake pedal was simply a pressure-sensitive pad that did not move when pressed. This certainly took some getting used to. After only a couple laps around the track, I can’t say I was fully comfortable with it this new brake system. However, I think I could get used to it with minimal driving, similar to the way new EV drivers adapt to one-pedal driving.

The braking control pad required significantly less effort to control than a standard pedal. This could certainly come in handy when you get stuck in stop-and-go traffic. Bosch is targeting to begin production of this system in vehicles next year, for a 2026 model year release. However, Bosch wouldn’t say which car maker will introduce this system.

When electrical systems fail, things can go wrong. Quickly. Even at the most basic level, an electrical short can make your power steering and power brakes stop working. If you aren’t expecting this, it can easily lead to a crash.

I got to experience this first hand on Bosch’s test track. I drove a Jaguar E-Pace through a narrow curve lined with thin cones. Even though I knew the car would lose power steering, I still struggled to control the vehicle. All three of the other drivers in my group ran over the cones, despite being prepared for the power steering failure. I can only imagine how difficult a car would be to control if the same happened on a highway!

On a whole different level, large electrical shorts can cause fires in EVs. There have been some concerns of EVs catching fire during crashes due to shorts. Concerns are even more prevalent over EVs catching fire while charging in the garage. Many drivers never park their EV in the garage for this reason. The risk even deters some car buyers from considering an EV because they don’t feel the vehicle would be safe to park in the garage. 

Imagine this: you’re driving on the highway and suddenly, your entire electrical system goes out. You have no power steering, no brakes, even the dashboard may go black. This is a known issue, especially in EVs and a dashboard that suddenly goes black is known to Tesla drivers. But Bosch has a solution: Powernet Guardian. This system detects when a short may occur and protects safety-related systems such as power steering, ABS braking, and traction control. This allows the driver to maintain control of the car. A warning will pop up on the dashboard to notify the driver to pull off the road and have the car repaired. 

I tested this feature specific to the power steering. After replacing the blown fuse from the first run (which I was able to take home as a souvenir), the Bosch engineers turned on the Powernet Guardian. On my second journey through the tight, cone-lined curve, when the car lost electrical power I watched the gauges turn black. Except this time, I never experienced any change in steering feel, and the power steering fuse never blew. 

While the system is still in the early testing stages, it can be used to protect other important safety systems in the car. In the future, I imagine similar technology could be used to protect other major electrical circuits—such as the one occasionally known to short-circuit and cause fires while an EV charges. With seemingly endless applications, the Powernet Guardian technology could be pivotal in the future of EV and hybrid vehicle safety. 

We’ve all seen that yellow warning pop up on the dashboard: A car with squiggly lines that indicates our traction control isn’t working. Usually it’s temporary and the system quickly gets its grip back. But what if it could predict what’s ahead and simply keep each wheel’s grip firm? That’s the idea of VDC 2.0. or Vehicle Dynamics Control. Bosch’s original VDC is a reactive system; it senses when a car is losing traction and adapts as necessary to maintain traction. But VDC 2.0 is a predictive system that can prevent the car from losing traction in the first place, keeping you safely on the road.

To test this out, I accelerated to approximately 60 MPH before performing an “emergency lane change.” Imagine a child ran into the street after a ball you would quickly turn the steering wheel 180 degrees left to avoid the child, then 180 degrees to the right to straighten out the wheel. With original VDC system the car wouldn’t spin out, but would did lose traction. On a public road, I might not be able to stay in my lane, or on the road itself. VDC 1.0 would likely have kept me from crashing in this instance, but I didn’t feel in control during the maneuver. 

With VDC 2.0 turned on, performing the exact same maneuver, I was absolutely shocked at how much control I maintained over the car. Yes, the tires squealed, and no, it wasn’t comfortable (I’m jerking the car left and back right, after all). However, the car didn’t lose traction, and I felt much more comfortable recovering after the maneuver. Because the VDC 2.0 system was able to predict the car losing traction, it could adapt to keep the car straight before any loss of traction actually occurred. 

Along with the VDC 2.0 system, Bosch showcased their steer by wire system – simply meaning that there is no direct physical connection between the steering wheel and the steering rack that controls the turning of the wheels. Steer by wire itself is not a new concept, but Bosch has been including this system into their traction control systems, allowing the car to control the steering of the wheels in order to keep the car straight and in control. 

To demonstrate this, I drove down a narrow pathway marked by cones. The left half of this pathway was smooth, slick tiles coated with water. The right half of the pathway was normal, dry pavement. With the steer by wire system turned off, when I emergency braked, I had to fight to keep the car straight, turning the wheel left and right to avoid hitting cones. When the steer by wire system was activated, the same emergency braking maneuver was much easier to control – I hardly had to provide any input at all, just hold the steering wheel straight. It was an incredible difference.

This was my absolute favorite feature demonstrated all day: Anywhere Park Trailer guidance. With the number of recreational trailers on the road increasing, trailering features are becoming more common, desirable, and necessary on all vehicles with a tow hitch. 

Currently, Bosch produces a trailer backup assist system that is equipped to some vehicles currently for sale, such as the Mercedes G-Class Bosch brought to the test track. This feature allows you to select straight, 90-degree right, or 90-degree left, and the car will steer automatically to move the trailer where you selected. I still had to constantly adjust the angle, and the system doesn’t provide guidance on how far to drive forward before backing up in order to position the trailer as desired. But it’s fair that the driver has to be in charge.

The new Anywhere Park trailer guidance system solves a huge issue; just select a location on the screen where you would like the trailer park, and the system does the work for you. It tells you to drive forward or reverse and when to stop or shift to reverse to perfectly position the trailer. The system does not require any guide lines, parking spots, or other indicators – hence the name “Anywhere Park.” New trailer owners will love this, but so will experienced trailer drivers (like me) for the increased maneuverability.

Drivers may be able to park their trailer in places they otherwise wouldn’t have felt comfortable maneuvering in to. If you’ve ever struggled to back a trailer into a spot, or tried to quickly recover after losing traction and feeling your car fishtail, then you’ll appreciate all those lights and beeps coming from the dashboard. They’re what is making our cars safer and more capable on the road.