Wolfgang and I decided to go to IAA in Munich last week. IAA has always been one of the most important automotive events in Europe and in the world, always with special focus on light technology. For the first time after Covid, and for the second time in Munich, I think it was a really nice success.
IAA combines three events in one:
- A public event for families and car enthusiasts in the city centre, where you can see the offerings from most auto brands under beautiful end-of-summer weather
- A professional event at the Messe with a lot of concept cars and new-vehicle reveals, and a very important business-to-business event with most of the biggest tier-1 suppliers participating
- Demonstration/test vehicles, including for ADAS.
About lighting, the focus was on technology. IAA does not talk too much about sustainability, reuse, CO2 reduction, usage of recycled material, or otherwise like that. The emphasis was on microLEDs, displays, software-defined vehicles, and sensor integration.
Light is everywhere. At the same time, discrete components like headlamps are disappearing, along with front grilles (which an EV doesn’t need). Instead, light functions are appearing—they’re integrated much more closely into the whole car, rather than as removable separate parts. So we move from system component to function. This is the trend! Tier-1s have to move this way to succeed, and they’re doing it. Take a look at the examples we present in this week’s DVNewsletter, and maybe take an extra-long look at the BMW Neue Klasse concept for an especially fabulous example.
Sincerely yours,
