WABCO Holdings entered into an agreement with Agrale, a major original equipment manufacturer based in Brazil and Argentina, to supply innovative hydraulic anti-lock braking (ABS) technology for Agrale's full range of light commercial vehicles that use hydraulic brakes.
As of 2013, new vehicle and road safety legislation in Brazil is in effect. It mandates ABS on 40 percent of trucks, buses, trailers and passenger cars manufactured during 2013. From January 2014, all such vehicles must have ABS installed. Light duty vehicles (less than six tons gross weight) normally use hydraulic braking systems whereas heavier vehicles typically deploy pneumatic systems.
"As the leading supplier of technologies and control systems for the safety and efficiency of commercial vehicles in South America, WABCO is proud to enter the hydraulic ABS market together with Agrale while also providing world-class technical support," said Reynaldo Contreira, WABCO South America business leader. "As our industry's leading supplier of anti-lock braking systems, WABCO also has the global connectivity to seize market growth driven by current and future regulations for compulsory ABS in different regions of the world."
In 1981, WABCO pioneered ABS for commercial vehicles. It prevents locking of a vehicle's wheels when road friction is insufficient to transmit braking forces, thus helping to maintain vehicle steering control and enabling safe braking, for example, in slippery road conditions.
