BWI Group, the leading global tier-1 supplier of advanced suspension and braking systems, has significantly expanded its production capacity for its 4th-generation magneto-rheological dampers, MagneRide®. In response to growing interest in active suspension technologies, the company has increased production output by 600,000 units annually.
BWI Group will now have the capacity to equip around 2 million vehicles in the coming years with its advanced MagneRide system, the highest volume to date, underscoring the accelerating shift toward intelligent, high-performance suspension solutions.
One of the key drivers behind the rising demand for active suspension is the increasing adoption of premium technologies across a broader range of vehicle segments. By scaling up production, BWI Group can leverage improved economies of scale, making high-performance active suspension more accessible and cost-effective.
The company’s production facilities in Poland, Mexico and China employ full-process quality monitoring, logistics automation and full value chain digitisation to minimise error and improve production reliability.
Recently, BWI Group secured a project to supply magneto-rheological dampers to a leading automaker, covering multiple models including sedans, SUVs, and high-performance vehicles, with an annual volume of approximately 400,000 vehicles within a life cycle.
Over the past two decades, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ford and Cadillac have adopted the MagneRide suspension technology in many models. More than 10 million dampers have been installed since the technology was introduced in 2002.
MagneRide reads the road ahead and responds to the driver input 1,000 times per second. Compared to other valve-based technologies, MagneRide provides better body motion control and steering, achieves a broader damping force range and responds more rapidly. The damping force is not limited by the suspension stroke velocity, and it can provide a high damping force at low stroke speeds.
MagneRide’s speed of damping response combined with a wide range of damping force capability allows high levels of vehicle tuning, particularly for high-frequency secondary motion situations. The MR fluid used in the damper delivers any level of damping within the wider dynamic range.
This allows MagneRide to balance ride comfort and driving dynamics that no valve-based products are capable of. MagneRide 4.0 uses wheel accelerometers and an inertial measurement unit, as well as several other shared sensors as inputs into the damping control algorithm. This provides the opportunity to control suspension damping in a much higher way than is traditionally done for “special conditions” like braking or steering.
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