There is an ever increasing commercial interest in employing permanent magnet actuators in automotive applications, in order to improve vehicle andling and passenger safety and comfort. One of the focus points is a (semi-) active suspension system for which various commercial technologies are existing, e.g. pneumatic and hydraulic actuation. This paper concerns with the design of semi-active suspension using a tubular electromagnetic actuator. In this application, the combination of low voltage (typically 12V), low volume and high force levels inevitably gives rise to a very demanding actuator system design.