Hitachi’s Electric Parking Brake Arrives in New Mazda CX-9 SUV

Hitachi Automotive Systems has recently announced that its electric parking brake is being utilized on Mazda Motor Corp.’s new three-row midsize crossover SUV, the stylish Mazda CX-9, that is slated to hit the dealerships of North America and other locations.

In recent years, in the case of cable-operated mechanical parking brakes that are manually applied by utilizing a lever or pressing down on a pedal, there has been an increase in vehicle contact accidents due to motorists forgetting to apply the brake or not applying it sufficiently on inclines and the like. This has resulted in a growing focus on electrically operated parking brakes that can inhibit such human errors by applying the brake automatically, and to an increasing number of vehicles being fitted with such brakes.

Since 1939, Hitachi Automotive Systems has been producing brake systems, and has fused the brake technology it has improved over the years in the brake business with its electronics technology to develop an electrically operated parking brake, powered by a compact electric motor, that produces a braking force that is automatically released when the vehicle starts off. The all-new Mazda CX-9, which is a high-end model in the automaker’s new generation product line, utilizes a highly assessed light, compact, noiseless and highly efficient thrust generation mechanism that is independently developed by Hitachi Automotive Systems.

This electric parking brake is also being utilized on Mazda’s enhanced version of the CX-5 that was unveiled in January last year, marking the first time the automaker used an electric parking brake on a crossover SUV.

The right braking force ensured by the electric parking brake, paired with the automatic release function, enhances vehicle safety. Apart from the reduction in the size and weight of the motor and caliper, the burden operation on the driver is decreased when starting and stopping on inclines, and the increase in design freedom around the center console made possible by removing the traditional manual brake lever offers improved comfort.

Hitachi Automotive Systems will strive to reinforce the development of automotive equipment for car safety and the environment, to contribute to the realization of an automotive society that it not only safe and secure but comfortable and eco-friendly.