Are electronic stability control systems widely available?
Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH was the first supplier to bring ESC to market on the 1995 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in Europe.8 The technology made its way to the American market a few years later as optional equipment on luxury cars. By the 2001 model year, it was standard on a number of high-selling vehicles and available as an option on many more. Since then automakers have been putting ESC on their vehicles, particularly SUVs, at a steady rate. The systems are marketed under various names, including dynamic stability control, vehicle stability control, dynamic stability and traction control, among others. The percentage of new passenger vehicle models with standard ESC has increased from 9 percent in the 2000 model year to 85 percent in the 2010 model year. NHTSA has issued a standard requiring all passenger vehicles to be equipped with ESC by 2012 model year.
