PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B60

B60D - Vehicle Connections

Vehicle connections. 1,802 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,802
US patents granted
B60
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+89%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Vehicle Connections ranks #380 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,802 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 89% over five years.

#380
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,802
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ford Global
leading assignee (221)
+89%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Llc (221 patents)

CPC subclass B60D - VEHICLE CONNECTIONS - covers 1,802 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B60 (VEHICLES IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B60D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Ford Global Technologies, Llc leads with 221 patents, followed by Saf-holland, Inc. at 36 grants and Westfalia-automotive Gmbh at 21.

Filing activity in B60D is up 89% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B60D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B60D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 89% versus 2015–2019.

50100150200250 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 133

Who leads B60D?

The 12 most active assignees in VEHICLE CONNECTIONS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Ford Global is the most active filer in B60D, holding 221 of the 1,802 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass B60D
Rank Company Patents in B60D
#1 Horizon Global Americas Inc. 77
#2 Saf-holland, Inc. 36
#3 Westfalia-automotive Gmbh 21
#4 Stabilock, Llc 17
#5 Weigh Safe, Llc 17
#6 Hall Labs Llc 15
#7 Outrider Technologies, Inc. 15
#8 ACPS Automotive Gmbh 15
#9 CURT Manufacturing, Llc 14
#10 Cequent Performance Products, Inc. 14
#11 Continental Autonomous Mobility US, Llc 13
#12 B &W Custom Truck BEDS, Inc. 13
#13 Jost-werke Deutschland Gmbh 13
#14 Grote Industries, Inc. 12
#15 Progress Mfg. Inc. 12
#16 Scambia Holdings Cyprus Limited 11
#17 Hübner Gmbh & Co. KG 10
#18 Paccar Inc 9
#19 Methode Electronics, Inc. 9
#20 AGCO Corporation 8

About This Class

CPC subclass B60D belongs to class B60.

1,802 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B60D assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B60D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B60D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 010203040 020406080100 Patents in B60D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Horizon Global Americ…Saf-hollandWestfalia-automotiveStabilockWeigh SafeHall LabsOutriderAcps AutomotiveCurt ManufacturingCequent Performance P…Continental Autonomou…B &W Custom Truck BedsJost-werke DeutschlandGrote Industries
Top 14 B60D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B60D?
CPC subclass B60D covers VEHICLE CONNECTIONS. It belongs to CPC class B60 (VEHICLES IN GENERAL), with 1,802 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B60D?
1,802 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B60D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B60D?
Ford Global Technologies, Llc leads B60D with 221 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B60D collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., B60) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B60D provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.