Two Chinese OEMs recently purchased AB Dynamics’ Suspension Parameter Measurement Machine to carry out vehicle dynamics evaluations – making April a record sales month of SPMMs for the supplier. China now accounts for two-thirds of SPMM sales in the last 24 months.
AB Dynamics reports that it has seen a gradual shift in the Chinese market with more and more manufacturers choosing to home in on the chassis characteristics of their vehicles. It believes the recent surge in interest in chassis testing equipment in the region is because the OEMs are looking to capitalize on the electrification movement to leapfrog global competitors.
Matthew Dustan, laboratory test systems director, said, “We have seen a significant increase in interest from China for our chassis testing equipment within the last decade. Chinese manufacturers are investing heavily to develop vehicles for both the growing Chinese domestic market and setting their sights on exporting vehicles to compete with their much longer-established competitors from Europe, the US and elsewhere in Asia, particularly in the EV sector. Improving the refinement of vehicles and how they ride and handle is a key part of this. Our SPMMs enable manufacturers to benchmark a vehicle’s chassis and suspension very quickly and accurately.”
The kinematics and compliance tester emulates on-road behavior of a chassis, used to measure and test the suspension’s K&C characteristics, which enables engineers to understand the vehicle’s ride, handling and steering performance. The latest version of the company’s SPMM rig, the 5000e, has been updated to accommodate a wider range of vehicle sizes and features the latest electromechanical actuators and computer software.