Ruckersville, September 12 A group of major auto makers accounting for more than half of US auto sales will make automatic emergency braking (AEB) standard on new US vehicles in one of the industry’s biggest auto safety moves since it embraced technology to prevent rollovers more than a decade ago. The car makers, which accounted for 57 per cent of car and light truck sales in the US last year, said on Friday they will work with regulators and the insurance industry to roll out collision avoiding braking technology across their lineups over the next few years. The automakers are Volkswagen and its luxury car division Audi, BMW, Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co, Mazda Motor Corp, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, Tesla Motors Inc, Toyota Motor Corp and Volvo AB. “We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focused on preventing crashes from ever occurring,” US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement on Friday. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is overseeing the effort, said the collaborative agreement took shape over last two weeks and that other car and truck manufacturers are still considering joining. Analysts say it could still take years for auto makers to redesign the electrical and braking systems of their cars to install autonomous braking. Among the automotive technology suppliers that could benefit are Continental AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Delphi Automotive Plc, Denso Corp and Autoliv Inc. The pact echoes earlier voluntary moves by automakers. In late 1980s, Chrysler began installing airbags in all its vehicles. In 2000s, GM, Ford and others agreed to make anti-rollover technology standard on most sport utility vehicles. Stability control is now mandatory on light vehicles. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a non-profit group affiliated with insurance sector, has pushed auto makers to install automatic emergency braking by making it a requirement for earning top marks in its crash test rankings. Federal officials say automatic braking can help avoid rear-end collisions, which accounted for one-third of all police-reported car crashes in 2013. Studies, including a recent IIHS report, also show that AEB technology can reduce insurance injury claims by as much as 35 per cent. NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said on Friday AEB should become standard among auto makers faster than the seven to eight years it could take to develop mandatory regulations to deliver the technology to consumers.