I’m just back from a 10-day trip to China and Korea. Each time I visit China, I can see increasingly visible progress in building houses, roads, and railways—travelling by train, this progress is readily visible. In our automotive lighting industry, too, fast progress is happening with new players. I visited three companies and I felt a willness not only to strive but to attain equality with the established makers by investing in materials and in human resources.
The only way Western companies might keep their position as the leaders is to accelerate the pace of devising and commercialising innovations—ADB with LED matrix, ADB with scanning laser, OLED, and more.
Recently I introduced a conference by describing highlights of the history of automotive lighting. What great progress we have achieved in 25 years with the arrival of complex shape/free form reflectors and window-clear lenses, then HID, bending light, intelligent lighting, LED, ADB, matrix beam, and now the laser technology arrives even before LED is mature.
So yes, great progress is being made in Chinese automotive companies, but at the same time great progress on technology flows from Western companies. We are in a struggle between growth and technology. It is good for automotive lighting industries which will continue to strengthen.
DVN Seoul workshop
During my trip I visited several Korean companies including Hyundai Motors and the main set makers and lighting sources. I found companies very interested to actively participate at the workshop with sponsorship, booths and lectures. Everyone will benefit when we each and all do our best to totally integrate the Korean companies in the development of lighting technology, technique, research, and regulation, and the forthcoming Seoul DVN workshop is an excellent lever for it. I would like to thank Ralf Schäfer, B.Y. Chung, and Kim Wang who helped me during the trip in China and Korea.
Sincerely yours
DVN Editor in Chief