Recently, Subaru Corporation in Japan (the manufacturer of Subaru vehicles) announced that cumulative global sales of Subaru vehicles equipped with its EyeSight® Driver Assist technology surpassed five million units in June 2022. This milestone was accomplished after 14 years and one month since the system was first introduced in Japan in May 2008.
In Australia, EyeSight® was first introduced on the range-topping Liberty and Outback models in 2012. Since then, sales in Australia for Subaru vehicles equipped with EyeSight® Driver Assist has increased across the range.
In 2021, 92% of Subaru vehicles sold in Australia were equipped with EyeSight®, and this has increased almost a further three per cent for 2022 year-to-date*.
Managing Director at Subaru Australia, Blair Read, added: “Achieving five million global sales of EyeSight-equipped vehicles is an incredible milestone for Subaru.
“We often talk about Subaru’s commitment to safety, and the comprehensive set of safety technology featured in all Subaru vehicles, but it’s when you get behind the wheel of a Subaru that you truly appreciate advanced safety technology like EyeSight® which acts like a second pair of eyes on the road for you.”
Subaru’s EyeSight® achieved a world first in using solely stereo camera technology to provide driver assist features such as, but not limited to, adaptive cruise control and pre-collision braking that detects not only cars, but also pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists in the vehicle’s path.
With superior recognition capabilities of its stereo camera technology, EyeSight® has achieved top ratings by independent agencies around the world, including ANCAP locally, and has contributed to strengthening Subaru’s preventative safety performance over the years.
A study performed by Subaru Corporation based on data from Japan’s Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) has revealed the accident rate of EyeSight-equipped vehicles is as low as 0.06% in Japan†, while a study conducted by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found the system reduces rear-end crashes with injuries by up to 85% in the U.S‡.
Since launching vehicle-mounted stereo camera development in 1989, Subaru has continually enhanced its stereo camera technology – the core component of EyeSight®.
The latest generation EyeSight® comes equipped with a redesigned stereo camera that features a much wider viewing angle, and combined with improved image recognition and processing software, it offers enhanced driver assist functions in a wider range of situations.
Looking ahead to future technology, in 2020 Subaru Corporation opened Subaru Lab – an AI development base – in Tokyo’s Shibuya area, where it is conducting research and development to integrate AI judgement capabilities into the stereo camera technology of Subaru EyeSight®.
In line with Subaru Corporation’s most important safety commitment yet – Towards Zero§ – Subaru will continue to refine primary, active, prevent, passive, and connected safety technologies which underpin its all-around safety philosophy.
* Figures as of September 2022.
† Calculated by Subaru Corporation (the Japanese manufacturer of Subaru vehicles) based on the number of Subaru vehicles equipped with Eyesight (ver.3) sold from 2014 through to 2018 (456,944 units) and ITARDA data (259 rear-end crashes).
‡ Based on IIHS reporting data as of January 2017 from MY2013-2015 Subaru models equipped with EyeSight® through 2014 in the U.S.
§ Subaru Corporation (the Japanese manufacturer of Subaru cars) has publicly stated its aim to reduce the number of fatal accidents in a Subaru vehicle to zero by 2030 as well as the number of fatalities among pedestrians, cyclists and the like as a result of a collision with a Subaru vehicle. For more information on Subaru Corporation’s CSR initiatives visit https://www.subaru.co.jp/en/csr/subaru_csr/sixpriority/peace.html.
