Valeo is expanding its range of innovative aftermarket AquaBlade™ wipers. Under the SWF brand, references were introduced for buses of the Setra Kässbohrer and Mercedes-Benz brands.
AquaBlade™ technology on the IAM market
AquaBlade™ is an innovative solution based on precise spraying of the fluid on the surface of the car windscreen, achieved by incorporating the washer nozzles into the wiper blade. Wiping the windshield is faster and more even than compared to conventional wipers. Its quality is also not dependent on driving speed.
The performance of the AquaBlade™ wipers has been proven in numerous tests conducted by the German Fraunhofer Institute. It proved that AquaBlade™ enables 0.315 seconds faster driver response than compared to traditional wipers. In practice, this means reducing the stopping distance at 50 km/h by 4 metres, which corresponds to the width of the pedestrian crossing.
AquaBlade™ technology debuted as original equipment in premium passenger cars. Over time, it has been applied to other types of vehicles as well, and has recently become available in the aftermarket under the Valeo and SWF brands. Valeo calculates that there are already more than one million AquaBlade™ wipers on Europe's roads.
New products in the SWF line - AquaBlade™ for buses
Following its success in the passenger car market, Valeo decided to bring AquaBlade™ technology to the commercial vehicle and bus sectors. The new AquaBlade™ wiper references for Setra and Mercedes-Benz buses have just debuted in the aftermarket. These are the exact same products that the company supplies as first assembly for these vehicles.
The new SWF AquaBlade™ wipers are specified for:
- Setra Kässbohrer ComfortClass and TopClass
- Mercedes Benz Citaro
An efficient windscreen washer fluid distribution system enhances driving safety in difficult weather conditions. This is extremely important for vehicles used to transport people. AquaBlade™ wipers not only provide instant windshield cleaning and thus improve visibility for the driver. They are also a reliable support for vehicle safety systems. On many of the latest generation vehicles, cameras and sensors for driver assistance systems are located at the top of the windshield. The fluid stream from a traditional washer often does not reach there, especially at higher speeds. By using AquaBlade™, the problem of limited field of view of cameras and sensors has been eliminated.
