Last week in Hanover, Germany was IAA Transportation – where commercial vehicle and truck manufacturers and suppliers meet every two years. Lighting is beginning to play a big role in this industry, and I see three main pillars:
First is V2X communication, with the Stellantis Pro One BOW concept (box on wheels), a last-kilometre vehicle concept.
Second is exterior and lamp design. What has been a revolution for passenger vehicles is clearly coming into the truck business. FAW’s TL.X truck concept is a good example with full-width front and rear light bands, front display, and invisible headlamps.
Elon Musk’s Tesla semi was also on display, with a design similar to a Model Y.
Compared to the first concept we saw, we find light band has vanished. It will be the same for the FAW trucks; such a design is currently not legal in Europe. GTB made a proposal at GRE-86 in 2022 to remove the 60-cm minimum distance between left and right position lamps on trucks, but this proposal was withdrawn after GRE delegates from Germany, Netherlands, and the UK raised objections.
The third pillar is the importance of interior lighting, while driving and while relaxing, to create a cocoon and a homelike feeling for the driver.
Lighting suppliers like Forvia Hella and Valeo had big booths at IAA and showcased lighting products; truck expos are no longer just for powertrain and seating displays.
Let’s continue the discussion tonight at the DVN Paris cocktail, and then carry on at the SIA VISION event.
This week, your DVNewsletter also brings you our interview with Valeo Light ex-CEO Maurizio Martinelli, a regulatory update of turquoise AD-S lamps, a report on Valeo’s development of Metalens technology, a report of our Gerhardi field trip, and the main takeaways of a conference in Paris on Artificial Intelligence in R&D.
