Dear colleagues,
On the 5th of May, Driving Vision News invited 18 people from 16 different companies involved in automotive lighting for discussions under the rubric: “In today’s crisis, how can lighting suppliers work differently with car makers to develop innovations simultaneously in technologies and cost reduction?”
What do I retain 2 months after this meeting?
It was an open discussion amongst most of the German automotive lighting experts with two important points of common agreement:
• Users do not consider lights as safety systems, but still look for style and design perception.
• Xenon equipment rate strongly varies by region and is still too low in Europe and North America.
The lighting community has to react to this situation. Lighting is a styling feature but also is and has to be a safety feature. The LSS initiative is doing a big job launching surveys and promoting Xenon technologies. The second point shared by all participants is to increase Xenon system affordability by price reduction. All the participants share this point but unfortunately diverge on the actions to be taken.
It is difficult to take a common decision between participants from premium car makers, generalist car makers, tier 1&2 lighting suppliers who have different targets because their own diverging interest. But I retain their willingness for lighting technologies to succeed.
Suggesting solutions to achieve this was more tedious. I am sure such discussions can help lighting technologies development and promotion.
Find herewith the complete report of the meeting with participants and discussion synthesis.
Sincerely yours