China Passenger Car Electronic Controlled Suspension Industry Report, 2026
Electronic Controlled Suspension Industry Research: As the First Year of Full Active Suspension Unfolds, Three Technical Routes Race Forward
1. Penetration Rate Surges Three Times, and Electronic Controlled Suspension Enters A Boom Period
According to data from ResearchInChina, the installation rate of continuously variable damping shock absorbers (including CDC and MRC) in passenger cars in China broke through the 10% threshold for the first time in 2024, and further climbed to 22.2% from January to May 2026, entering a rapid penetration stage. The installations rose from 998,000 vehicles in 2022 to 3.612 million vehicles in 2025, representing an increase of more than 2.6 times within three years. In terms of price distribution, continuously variable damping shock absorbers were largely installed in vehicles priced at RMB150,000?300,000. From January to May 2026, their proportion in the price range of RMB200,000?250,000 hit 18.2%. The pace of electronic controlled suspension penetrating from high?end configurations to the mainstream family car market quickens.
Air suspension also boasts robust growth momentum. In 2025, air suspensions were installed in 1.289 million passenger cars in China, with an installation rate of 5.6%, several times higher compared with 282,000 units in 2022. The full?year installations in 2026 are expected to exceed 2 million vehicles. In terms of price range, air suspension is penetrating from the luxury vehicles priced at above RMB300,000 to the price range of RMB200,000?250,000. From January to May 2026, the range of RMB300,000 350,000 recorded the highest installation proportion at 26.67%, yet its share ramps down. The proportion of the RMB200,000?250,000 range keeps rising, up to 10.27% from January to May 2026. The so?called "luxury exclusive configuration" is rapidly turning into a "standard feature for mid?to?high?end new energy vehicles". In addition, the installations of "magic carpet" preview suspension reached 1.414 million vehicles in China in 2025, a year?on?year upsurge of 334%. Popular models such as Xiaomi YU7, AITO and Li Auto are equipped with this technology. Suspension systems are evolving from "passive response" to "road condition prediction".
2. The "First Year" of Full Active Suspension: Three Technical Routes Race Forward
If CDC and air suspension represent the "first half" of electronic controlled suspension, full active suspension is opening its "second half". The year 2026 is regarded by the industry as "the first year of full active suspension". Yangwang U8 and NIO ET9 are the first to carry mass-produced full active suspension. AITO, MAEXTRO, Li Auto, Geely and other brands followed up. Full active suspension has become a "standard business card" for flagship models of these brands. Different from CDC and air suspension, full active suspension can actively output force to realize "zero roll and zero pitch", and even actively adjust body height. New chassis functions such as "single?wheel tire?changing" and "in?place dancing" are derived. At present, full active suspension presents a pattern of parallel development of three technical routes:
① 800V split?type hydraulic (high?pressure pump + four?wheel actuator): Representative models include Li L9 Livis, MAEXTRO V800 and AITO M9. This technical route applies to heavy?load SUVs and high?performance models that require high power and heavy?load lifting capacity.
② 48V integrated hydraulic (motor + micro?pump + controller integrated at wheel end): Representative models are NIO ET9/ES9 (SkyRide). The system features compact structure and fast response, suitable for urban comfort scenarios.
③ Linear motor (hydraulic?free): Representative model is BYD Yangwang U7 (DiSus?Z). The system features the fastest response (at the 5?millisecond level) and energy recovery capability, yet faces maximum cost and heat dissipation pressure.
On August 28, 2026, Geely Auto Group officially released AI new energy off?road technology and announced that its first model equipped with this technology, Galaxy Cruiser 700, will be launched on market. On this off?road technology platform, Geely Group introduced full active suspension products for the first time. The complete system consists of dual?chamber air spring, CDC, active hydraulic system, AI preview and GVMC 3.0 vehicle control. Details are as follows:
The dual?chamber air spring connects or isolates the auxiliary air chamber via solenoid valves to switch between low?stiffness mode for urban scenarios and high?stiffness mode for off?road scenarios.
CDC continuously adjusts oil damping of shock absorbers.
The active hydraulic system delivers a response time as low as 50ms and builds pressure of 150bar. It can actively lift or press wheels to realize "active obstacle crossing".
AI preview: front view camera and radar scan the road surface 30?meters ahead, identify pit distance, depth and edge shape, calculate the moment of entering pits combined with vehicle speed to achieve advance system response.
The control layer adopts GVMC 3.0, which connects intelligent driving cameras, radars, wheel speed, attitude sensors and motor torque for millisecond?level coordination between braking, steering and suspension.
3. Electronic Controlled Suspension Shifts from "Hardware Competition" to "Algorithm + Ecosystem" Competition
At present, the electronic controlled suspension industry evolves along the following three paths:
First, cost reduction and large?scale adoption. Referring to the experience that CDC took about 8?10 years to penetrate from luxury vehicles to the RMB100,000?300,000 range and air suspension took 6?8 years to extend down to the RMB250,000 range, full active suspension will not sink to the family car market in the short term. Nevertheless, it has penetrated from the price range of above RMB500,000 to the RMB300,000?500,000 range in 2026. It is expected that the main vehicles installed will fall within the RMB400,000?500,000 range in the next 2?3 years.
In May 2026, BYD launched DiSus?P Ultra, a suspension whose full name is Full?Scenario Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System. It was first equipped on Bao 8 Flash Charge Edition (RMB419,800?427,800) and Bao 5 DiSus Flash Charge Edition (RMB305,800). Its structure completely cancels coil springs and adopts high?pressure hydraulic actuators to independently control each wheel, enabling four?wheel independent decoupled control. It offers powerful functions such as "no jack tire change", "three?wheel stable running" and "super lifting".
In terms of performance, DiSus?P Ultra delivers a maximum wheel?lifting height of 300?mm. Single?wheel lifting can last for more than 24 consecutive hours. With maximum lifting load of up to 9 tons, it enables stable body lifting on 45?degree steep slopes. The maximum adjustment travel is 200mm, involving 90mm lowering and 110mm lifting.
Based on the above performance, functions derived from the DiSus-P Ultra include the following:
No jack tire change: one?click operation via mobile APP to suspend a single wheel without jacks, free from ground flatness constraints.
Three?wheel stable running: when one wheel blows out or fails, the faulty wheel keeps suspended, and the remaining three wheels run stably at speed ≤15km/h.
Wheel?lifting for escape: one?click lifting of stuck wheels when vehicles get trapped, enabling the vehicle to pull out on its own after placing escape boards.
In full blowout or suspension of single wheel, it allows three?wheel running at speed ≤15km/h, with unlimited mileage and time.
Second, accelerated technological iteration. Air springs evolve from single chamber to dual chamber and triple chamber. Voyah Taishan has been the first production vehicle with triple?chamber air suspension among Chinese brands. Shock absorbers upgrade step?by?step: CDC → dual-valve CDC → magnetorheological (MRC) → hydraulic full active → linear motor. Models of Chinese independent brands such as Deepal L06 and iCAR V27 are equipped with magnetorheological shock absorbers.
Third, "intelligent driving collaboration + chassis domain control" becomes a standard configuration. Suspension systems will reuse intelligent driving perception hardware such as lidar and front view camera for road preview. They realize coordinated control with steering, braking and electric drive at the chassis domain control (VMC) level. "Preview + AI control" will become a competitive edge of intelligent chassis. The competitive focus of intelligent chassis is extending from single hardware to the closed?loop ecosystem of "perception?domain control?algorithm?data". Algorithm capability determines the upper limit of suspension performance.
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