On the LED smart car lighting track, which directions are players betting on?

In the context of the continuous evolution of intelligent driving technology, automotive lighting is transforming from passive lighting to active perception and interaction. Whether it is ADB adaptive high beam, Mini LED interactive display, or ADS logo light, they are all reshaping the functional boundaries and value positioning of car lights. However, from the perspective of the industrialization process, technological maturity, cost constraints and regulatory systems are still profoundly affecting the pace of its implementation.

The large-scale application of ADB is still restricted by multiple factors

ADB (adaptive high beam system) technology is one of the important directions for upgrading automobiles to intelligence and interactivity, but its current development is not as good as expected. In the process of automotive lighting developing towards ADB, many industry chain companies generally believe that it is still mainly equipped with high-end models, and the overall popularity pace is restricted by multiple factors such as cost, technology, regulations and user awareness.

1) High cost and system complexity

Hongli Automotive Semiconductor believes that the reasons why ADB is less popular than expected are concentrated in the six major dimensions of cost, technology, supply chain, regulations, market demand and ecology.

Jinko Electronics pointed out that the ADB system involves high-pixel light sources (such as matrix LEDs, Micro LEDs), driver ICs, control algorithms and sensing systems. The overall BOM cost is relatively high. In addition, it requires high coordination capabilities of the entire lamp factory and the supply chain. Its development cycle is long and the verification system is complex, which affects the pace of large-scale promotion to a certain extent.

Foda Signal also stated that the better the ADB, the more pixels are required and the higher the cost. The cost of ordinary models cannot support this configuration. Most ADBs for passenger cars need to meet ISO 26262 functional safety (ASIL-B), and complex scenario testing, algorithm iteration, and system integration take a long time, pushing up research and development costs and time to market.

Ruifeng Optoelectronics believes that in the short term, high-end models and new energy vehicle companies will still be the first to adopt ADB technology; in the medium and long term, as localization and standards improve, costs will gradually drop to the mainstream price range.

Jufei Optoelectronics further added from the light source side that ADB is currently mainly used in mid-to-high-end models, and mid-range models are mostly available as optional equipment. Its popularity is also restricted by multiple factors. In addition to cost and technological maturity, the high-power LED light sources used in ADB headlights are still relatively cautious in mass production applications at domestic packaging plants, which to a certain extent also limits their large-scale promotion.

2) Market demand and user perception are still limited

Nationstar Optoelectronics believes that the popularity of ADB car lights is not high. The key lies in the gap between the display effect of ADB and consumer demand, which requires practitioners to develop more application scenarios. Jufei Optoelectronics pointed out that under the background of relatively complete urban road lighting, it mainly functions as an auxiliary system under specific conditions, which to a certain extent affects the popularity of mainstream models.

In terms of user experience, both Foda Signal and Yishan Auto Lighting believe that the ADB effect is difficult to intuitively perceive, and the improvement to the driver's own experience is limited, and there are still recognition and response deviation problems in complex scenarios, resulting in users' weak willingness to pay. Currently, it is mainly concentrated in high-end car configurations. Jinko Electronics also pointed out that users’ value perception of ADB is still in the cultivation stage.

3) The regulatory system has not yet been unified

According to Jinko Electronics and Foda Signal, there are differences in glare standards, test methods and access rules in different countries and regions, and the certification system is not unified, which drives up global promotion costs and also affects the configuration strategy of OEMs.

Although the current popularization of ADB technology still faces certain resistance, relevant companies have continued to accelerate their layout and have made positive progress in product research and development, mass production introduction, and customer targeting.

Mini LED interactive display is accelerating to be put into vehicles, but it still faces vehicle regulations and cost challenges

Compared with ADB, which focuses on "lighting optimization", Mini LED interactive display is further evolving towards "information expression and human-vehicle interactive interface", and its role in the vehicle's intelligent system continues to increase.

1) Accelerated release of potential application value

The consensus among companies is that Mini LED interactive display is becoming an important information interface connecting "vehicles-users-environment", and its value has gradually expanded to multi-dimensional functions such as safety, interaction and brand expression.

In terms of external interaction and safety expression, Foda Signal, Yishan Auto Lighting and Jinko Electronics believe that Mini LED can realize vehicle status display, pedestrian warning and automatic driving intention transmission through high brightness and zoned light control, improve road traffic efficiency and safety, and become an important interface for external communication of intelligent driving.

In terms of user experience and emotional expression, Nationstar Optoelectronics and Ruifeng Optoelectronics believe that this technology can not only display assisted driving status, but also carry personalized light language, emotional expression and atmosphere creation, enhancing the high-end and immersive experience of the vehicle.

From a more macro perspective, Jufei Optoelectronics regards Mini LED interactive display as one of the key technologies that promotes the evolution of automobiles from "tools" to "digital life forms", emphasizing its systemic value in improving the efficiency of human-vehicle interaction, building scenario-based services, and strengthening off-car communication capabilities.

2) Vehicle factory verification still faces multiple challenges

However, at the industrial implementation level, this technology also faces multiple engineering challenges.

Firstly, vehicle-level reliability requirements are extremely high, and must meet stringent test conditions such as high and low temperature cycles, long-term vibration, and heat and humidity aging; secondly, the complexity of the system has increased significantly, and high partitioning has made the design of drive, thermal management and control systems more difficult; in addition, there is still an obvious balance between vehicle cost and mass production feasibility.

3) Enterprise differentiation paths gradually formed

In terms of competitive strategies, enterprise paths gradually differentiated:

Jinko Electronics, Yishan Automotive Lighting and Foda Signal emphasized joint pre-development with OEMs, moving from devices to system capabilities.

Ruifeng Optoelectronics will rely on its large-scale capabilities such as Mini LED backlight and COB to drive down costs through the application of consumer-grade terminal products.

Nationstar Optoelectronics stated that it will rely on its own and domestic excellent supply chain resources and its own device packaging, system development, and module manufacturing capabilities to develop high-quality and cost-effective Mini LED interactive display products.

Jufei Optoelectronics emphasized that in the current car factory verification process, the main challenges exist in system matching and dynamic performance verification, reliability and durability verification, supply chain and manufacturing compliance thresholds, test verification cost and cycle pressure, compliance with regulations and safety standards, etc.

Taking Jinko Electronics as an example, it emphasizes extending from "device supply" to "system capabilities": on the one hand, it relies on its technology accumulation in the field of automotive-grade LED and Mini/Micro LED to continue to strengthen high brightness, high reliability and consistent control capabilities; on the other hand, it improves solution integration through modular and platform design, and participates in joint development with OEMs and Tier 1 in advance, embedding differentiated capabilities in the product definition stage, thereby building a comprehensive competitive advantage between performance, cost and delivery efficiency.

ADS is moving from optional to standard, and the deterministic incremental market is opening

Compared with ADB and Mini LED, ADS sign lights have stronger policy-driven attributes and deterministic growth expectations. Many companies generally believe that the core of the development of this market comes from the mandatory demand brought about by the gradual clarification of autonomous driving regulations.

According to Jinko Electronics, Cyan (blue-green) has been included in the special identification color system for autonomous driving by many international regulations. With the development of autonomous driving technology, vehicles need to more clearly express their operating status (such as autonomous driving or manual driving), and Cyan Color can provide high-recognition status identification, thereby improving the safety and clarity of road interactions.

Foda Signal has observed that many countries and regions around the world are gradually advancing regulations related to smart driving, clearly requiring autonomous vehicles to be equipped with visual sign lights. The mandatory promotion of policies will directly drive ADS sign lights into a stage of large-scale growth.

Judging from the market pace, Hongli Automotive Semiconductor has judged that ADS sign lights are a "quasi-mandatory configuration" for L3 and above intelligent driving. The industry will rapidly transform from optional to standard configuration from 2026 to 2030, with high certainty and growth flexibility. Ruifeng Optoelectronics pointed out that this market segment shows a development path of "small and stable in the short term, explosive in the medium term, and standardization in the long term".

As the penetration rate of smart driving continues to increase, Jufei Optoelectronics believes that the accelerated popularization of new energy and fuel vehicle-related configurations will push ADS sign lights into a stage of explosive growth, and market demand is expected to continue to grow in the next few years.

From the perspective of application extension, Nationstar Optoelectronics pointed out that ADS sign lights are a typical product form for the development of intelligent driving. As assisted driving capabilities continue to increase, its application scenarios will continue to expand, and the overall market space is expected to be further opened.

On this basis, various companies have also accelerated the implementation of industrialization at the product and project levels.

In terms of product solutions, Jinko Electronics provides ADS Cyan LEDs covering the 0.2W-3W full power range and multi-color combinations. Technically, it adopts a highly reliable packaging solution and relies on high thermal conductivity materials such as ceramics, EMC, and PCT to improve heat dissipation and anti-humidity performance and ensure long-term stability. It also provides two technical paths of chip luminescence and phosphor conversion to meet different cost and consistency requirements.

Ruifeng Optoelectronics has also completed the layout of the full ADS product line, covering single-color, dual-color and 3W power segment products, and has achieved batch order delivery. The product system has gradually evolved towards platformization and standardization.

In terms of industry promotion, Jufei Optoelectronics has laid out this track earlier and has now achieved mass production applications in many automobile brand projects. ADS products include high and low-power monochromatic light and dual-color light combination solution products; Hongli automotive semiconductor "little blue light" related products have been recognized by customers, and projects in all directions are progressing smoothly; Nationstar Optoelectronics' chip and phosphor solution ADS products have passed vehicle regulatory certification and have the ability to be introduced into customer projects at any time.

Foda Signal and Yishan Auto Lighting focus more on system-level capabilities and collaborative advancement of the vehicle end.

Foda Signal has established an exclusive automotive-grade production line and formed ADS lamps and LED mass production projects. At the same time, relying on the Hongli Zhihui automotive-grade LED ecosystem, it has strengthened supply chain collaboration and technical controllability.

Yishan Auto Lighting has been equipped with ADS lights on Geely, BAIC, Chery and other models, and has been applied in Geely Ruilan, BAIC taillights and Chery projects. At the same time, it has jointly developed platform-based ADS lights with Volkswagen to promote the implementation of low-cost platform solutions.

Summary

From an industrial perspective, the three new technologies of ADB, Mini LED interactive display and ADS can correspond to "lighting optimization", "interactive upgrade" and "regulation driven" to a certain extent respectively, and jointly promote the transformation of automotive lighting from functional parts to intelligent interactive interfaces.

This trend was further verified in the product presentation at the Shanghai Auto Lighting Show. Analysts from TrendForce pointed out that in the context of persistent cost pressure, manufacturers generally use low-cost solutions to accelerate the large-scale implementation of ADB adaptive headlights. This judgment is basically consistent with the views of companies such as Hongli Automotive Semiconductor, Jinko Electronics, Foda Signal and Ruifeng Optoelectronics, that is, cost is still one of the core constraints affecting the pace of ADB popularization.

In the direction of interactive display, the application scenarios of ISD intelligent interactive products continue to expand, and car lights are evolving from lighting units to information interaction carriers. However, from the perspective of industrial implementation, Jinko Electronics, Nationstar Optoelectronics and Jufei Optoelectronics pointed out that due to factors such as cost, mass production and vehicle regulation verification, the current solution still needs to find a balance between performance and commercial feasibility. Analysts at TrendForce also emphasized that due to cost and mass production constraints, the overall exhibits at the Shanghai Auto Lighting Show are still dominated by larger pixel pitch solutions to balance effects and implementation capabilities.

In the field of ADS sign lights, TrendForce Consulting analysts pointed out that due to cost and mass production capacity constraints, this year’s exhibits also focus on solutions that are easier to mass produce, balancing performance and feasibility of implementation. At the same time, companies generally believe that their core driving force comes from the release of mandatory configuration requirements brought about by the gradual clarification of autonomous driving regulations.

Overall, the focus of enterprise competition is gradually extending from device performance to system capabilities, car factory collaboration and platform delivery capabilities. Companies with front-end development and cross-system integration capabilities are expected to occupy a more advantageous position in the new round of intelligent upgrading of vehicle lights. Overall, the LED lighting industry will continue to be a long-term intertwining of opportunities and challenges.