It was a wonderful sunny spring day when I drove to Regensburg to visit and interview the AMLS people—that’s AMS Osram’s vehicle lighting team. AMLS became an independent entity under the umbrella and ownership of AMS Osram in October 2021, having been founded in July 2018 as a 50/50 joint venture between Osram and Continental before being reintegrated into the respective parent companies. Only two days after my visit, AMS Osram announced the sale of AMLS to Plastic Omnium. Having a complementary product portfolio, the two companies expect to jointly expand their market access and to establish a strong mobility lighting player built on AMLS’ portfolio of innovative technologies.
Headquartered in Munich, AMLS combine lighting technology with electronics and software to develop intelligent, innovative lighting solutions for the automotive industry. They employ about 800 people across five R&D sites (including US and China) and three production sites. The product portfolio includes projection solutions; front, interior, body shell, and signal lighting; and LED driver modules. Despite the multiple changes in company ownership, the team radiate a refreshing dynamism and enthusiasm. This team spirit and the short decision-making paths are the ideal recipe for reacting quickly and flexibly to market trends and creating targeted, innovative products. During my visit and our discussion, I had the opportunity to see some of the recently developed prototypes and products in action. A selection of these are described in this week’s in-depth article.
AMLS focus strongly on projection—static, dynamic, and digital—outside and inside the vehicle. The creative team also develop a variety of smart products in other areas, including the likes of standard-modularised replaceable LED light sources; LED projection modules, and elegant backlit touch control panels. Through partnerships with other companies, expertise in intelligent lighting is combined with exterior components; plastics processing, and injection molding. In this environment and with the enthusiasm I have experienced, I am very sure we will see a lot of new and innovative products from the AMLS team. Let’s be surprised!