According to an industry report released by GACO Auto, the global electromechanical braking (EMB) market will reach $50.49 million in 2026, representing a growth rate exceeding 200% compared to 2025. This disruptive technology is about to move from product testing to small-scale commercialization.
China is becoming the core engine of this transformation. As the world’s largest market for and producer of EMB, its wave of automotive intelligence provides fertile ground for the technology’s implementation. Orient-motion will be the first to commercialize the world’s first EMB vehicle. The company has already controlled the system’s production cost to around $500 and plans to establish technology centers in Germany, Japan, and the United States in 2026 to meet the needs of international automakers—three European automakers have already started engineering verification, and a German luxury brand has even included it in its list of preferred EMB architecture suppliers for 2027.
The Exeed EX7, jointly developed by Orient-motion and Chery, became the world’s first vehicle equipped with a mass-produced pure electric power-controlled braking system, completely eliminating the century-old hydraulic braking system and achieving 100% electronic control, marking a new era in automotive braking technology.
Faced with the aggressive breakthroughs of Chinese domestic companies, traditional automotive parts giants are engaged in a fierce defensive battle.
Nexteer Automotive, an American parts supplier, launched its own EMB system last year and planned a production line with an annual capacity of 600,000 units, attempting to maintain its market share in steering and braking. German giant ZF Friedrichshafen accelerated the deployment of its EMB production line at its Wuhan plant, aiming to supply components for nearly 5 million vehicles in the future.
However, even industry leader Bosch appears somewhat cautious in this competition. The German giant is currently still in the real-vehicle testing phase and has not yet announced a timeline for large-scale mass production. In contrast, Chinese suppliers, including BWI and Tongyu, have secured contracts with automakers and plan to achieve mass production and delivery by the end of 2026. BWI has already established strategic partnerships with Kaiyi Auto and Youpao Technology to launch a ball-disc type single-motor EMB solution, with mass production planned for the end of 2026. Tongyu has completed B-sample testing of its EMB system and secured five new project contracts.
For automakers, the widespread adoption of EMB signifies a deeper transformation. By eliminating hydraulic delay, the new system’s braking response time is reduced by approximately 50 milliseconds, and the braking distance from 100 km/h is reduced by 1.5 meters. More importantly, the all-electronic architecture achieves complete decoupling of hardware and software, providing a more precise and faster execution terminal for Level 3 and above autonomous driving systems.
Regulations and technology are driving the accelerated penetration of EMB. The relevant national standards in China will officially come into effect in 2026, providing compliance guarantees for the commercialization of the technology. With declining costs, expanding production capacity, and designated installations by automakers, EMB is expected to achieve significant market penetration in the coming years, reshaping the automotive braking technology landscape and laying a core foundation for the safety and performance upgrades of intelligent electric vehicles.
