Hyundai Mobis working on world’s first roof airbag

By CARSIFU | 14 April 2020


SEOUL: The idea of a roof airbag is not new and has been bandied around for years.

Hyundai Mobis said last month that it is working to improve the reliability of its new roof airbag, a project it has been working on sinc 2017.

Hyundai Mobis’ roof airbag is deployed under the surface side of the vehicle in a rollover accident, covering the entire roof in just 0.08 seconds, protecting and preventing all passengers from being ejected out of the sunroof.

Since it began mass-producing its first airbags in 2002, Hyundai Mobis has continuously introduced advanced airbag technologies. Hyundai Mobis is part of the Hyundai Motor Group.

The Hyundai Mobis project has caught the eye of the US National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration which is testing the roof airbag.



As panoramic sunroofs grow more popular, regulators are starting to examine the safety implications.

According to Allied Market Research, the “global automotive panoramic sunroof industry” was worth US$1.31 billion in 2018 but would reach US$4.26 billion by 2026. The sector would post a compound annual growth rate of 15.7 percent between 2019 and 2026, according to Allied Market Research. adding that the Asia-Pacific and European regions would grow even more.

Glass sunroofs accounted for about 94 percent of the revenue in 2018, said Allied Market Research, a market research firm based in Portland, Oregon.

The New York Times in 2018 cited Wards Auto data to report that 40 percent of 2017 model year vehicles had a sunroof, compared to 33 percent for 2011.

US auto parts vendor TRW Automotive introduced its own "roof airbag" in 2011 but it wasn't to prevent sunroof injuries in a rollover.

TRW's version, mounted in the roof, replaces passenger airbags typically fitted in a car's instrument panel. The new airbag is said to help reduce passenger injuries and can allow for improved interior design aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality while saving space in the instrument panel. The Citroen C4 Cactus is using the TRW airbag.


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