When I left Valeo in 2006, I couldn’t imagine such amazing progress soon to sweep the automotive industry. At that time, HID was the best light technology. Bending Light and AFS were starting to gain traction and held great future promise. We were very proud of our recent-at-the-time progress in lighting performances with HID, in functions with AFS, and in styling with new styling differentiation from BiXenon and the innovative surrounding components—bezels, bulb shields, and so on.
Now, just eight years later, most of those achievements are ancient history, surpassed by unprecedented recent great progress in every aspect of vehicle lighting. We have not just DRLs but also low, high, and fog beams lit by LEDs. We have ADB fulfilling the promise of AFS—the initial handful of discrete beams (town, motorway, foul weather, etc.) are fading from memory, outshone by ADB’s dynamically variable beam distribution. Now we’ve got laser-based headlamps, and even HID technology gets another boost with new high-luminance systems covered in this week’s news.
Why such great progress these days? I see three major reasons: Styling differentiation, technology and lighting performance, and better communication.
• Styling differentiation is the main driver, with automakers seeking to differentiate their new models and to give a familial signature to their brand. The DRL was one lever starting with Audi and followed by all the new worldwide brands; now LEDs in all main lighting functions facilitate wonderful front ends on cars of numerous brands throughout all segments of the market.
• Technology and lighting performance, the prime example is ADB which will take more and more importance and market share, especially when North American regulations change to allow it.
• Communication is more and more used to advertise the high technology of the car and the brand. More and more, we see advertisements showing the new lights on a car. I have seen a paper in the most important french magazine presenting a new car, with 90% of the paper’s content devoted to lighting innovations! And just look at the amazing propaganda race between BMW and Audi on laser technology.
Eight years ago, who would have predicted such voluminous mainstream communication about car lights?
Sincerely yours
DVN Editor in Chief