Bosch celebrated the production of the 500 millionth oxygen sensor last month.

For 32 years, this component has played a major role in reducing automotive emissions. Placed in the exhaust gas flow of an internal combustion engine, the automotive oxygen sensor measures the oxygen content in the exhaust stream. This information is required by the engine management system for accurate control of the air/fuel mixture.

Since 2002, the oxygen sensor has also been employed in diesel engines, where it meters the amount of fuel injected more precisely, even further reducing emissions.

"The importance of oxygen sensors will further increase in the future," says Wolf-Henning Scheider, president of the Gasoline Systems division at Robert Bosch GmbH. "Continued intensification of emission limits, tight installation space conditions, ever-increasing fuel prices and stricter requirements for metering accuracy and durability continuously drive further developments at Bosch."