SBW has entered the first year of large-scale production, with technological breakthroughs and cost control becoming the focus of industry competition

In 2026, with the official implementation of the new national standard GB17675-2025, steer by wire (SBW) has completely cleared the compliance barriers for mass production and become a core hotspot in China's automotive power steering pump industry, marking the first year of large-scale production of steer by wire. Currently, SBW technology has achieved key breakthroughs, with overseas leaders and domestic enterprises accelerating their layout. Market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and technological optimization and cost control have become the core focus for enterprises to seize market share.

Line controlled steering (SBW) is the ultimate technological form of automotive steering systems, with "mechanical decoupling and electronic control interconnection" as the core. It adopts a combination architecture of upper steering actuator (HWA) and lower steering actuator (RWA), combined with dual redundant electronic control units and sensing modules, to build a complete steering control loop, completely eliminating the physical limitations of mechanical firmware. Compared with traditional EPS systems, SBW has significant advantages: eliminating the mechanical structure of the steering column can completely avoid the squeezing injury of the driver caused by the backward movement of the steering column in frontal collisions; Response delay ≤ 50ms, more than 30% faster than EPS, steering accuracy can be controlled within ± 0.1 °, and can perfectly execute the steering instructions of advanced intelligent driving systems; The steering ratio and steering feel can be defined through software, balancing comfort and handling; No mechanical wear parts, reducing maintenance costs in the later stage, while reducing the overall weight of the vehicle and improving the range of new energy vehicles.

In terms of technological breakthroughs, both domestic and foreign enterprises have made significant progress. Overseas leading enterprises have achieved small batch production of SBW with their first mover advantage. Bosch's SBW system has been matched with high-end intelligent models such as Mercedes Benz EQS and BMW iX, while ZF's SBW system has partnered with car companies such as Audi and Porsche. Its products have ASIL-D functional safety level, support OTA upgrades and dual redundancy design, and can adapt to L4 level autonomous driving needs. Domestic enterprises are accelerating to catch up, and companies such as Zhejiang Shibao, Yubei Steering, and Bethel have achieved breakthroughs in SBW technology and launched prototype products adapted to L3 level intelligent driving. Among them, Zhejiang Shibao's SBW system has entered the testing stage of car companies such as BYD and Xiaopeng, and is expected to achieve batch matching by 2027. In addition, domestic enterprises have also made breakthroughs in the field of core components. Self developed dual redundant MCUs, high-precision torque sensors and other components have been localized, breaking the technological monopoly of overseas enterprises.