On February 27th, Xiaomi launched the SU7 Ultra, a high-performance version of the SU7, priced at 529,900 yuan, nearly 300,000 yuan lower than the 814,900 yuan pre-sale price Xiaomi revealed last year, attracting widespread market attention. On the evening of February 28th, Xiaomi Auto announced that pre-orders for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra had exceeded 15,000 units.
The release of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra heralded the arrival of a new car launch wave in the automotive market. Recently, numerous automakers, including Li Auto, NIO, Dongfeng Nissan, GAC Aion, Changan Automobile, and Li Auto, have also announced their latest automotive product updates. Among various models, LED technology has become a highlight, bringing high-definition, high-brightness, and intelligent interactive display and lighting technologies to new vehicles, becoming a key to automotive intelligence.
The Xiaomi SU 7 Ultra features a 16.1-inch 3K central control screen . Similar to the Xiaomi SU 7, the SU 7 Ultra utilizes a 16.1-inch 3K resolution central control screen, a 7.1-inch flip-up instrument panel, and a 56-inch head-up display system for its intelligent driving features.
Image source: Xiaomi
It's worth noting that the Xiaomi SU 7 also features a 16.1-inch 3K resolution central control screen, using Mini LED technology and 1024 levels of dynamic dimming, supplied by TCL CSOT. It's expected that the SU 7 Ultra's central control screen will use the same display technology.
In terms of lighting, the Xiaomi SU 7 Ultra features AI rhythm ambient lighting inside the car, and comes standard with a wealth of features outside, including LED low beam headlights, ADB adaptive high beam headlights, 160° ultra-wide-angle cornering lights, and welcome lights.
Image source: Xiaomi
Li Auto unveils its first all-electric SUV, the i8, featuring a continuous LED taillight and a Mini LED interactive screen.
On February 25th, Li Auto posted on Weibo that the Li i8 is Li Auto's first pure electric SUV. The Li i8 adopts the same design language as Li Auto's first pure electric vehicle, the MEGA, including the front face, headlight design, and rear, with the front half resembling a "bullet".
Image source: Li Auto
At the front, the Li Auto i8 retains the closed front fascia of the MEGA series, while incorporating the three-dimensional engine bay lines and split headlights of the L series. At the rear, it borrows design elements from the L9, featuring a continuous LED taillight and a double-layered aerodynamic rear wing.
In terms of interior design, the Li Auto i8 continues the brand's family design style, featuring a dual-screen setup, an AR-HUD head-up display, and a small instrument cluster screen on the steering wheel. It is understood that the small Mini LED instrument cluster screen previously used in Li Auto models was supplied by Jufeng Optoelectronics.
Image source: Li Auto
The NIO ET9 features a continuous light strip and uses 240 ultra-red LED light sources . It is reported that the NIO ET9 has completed its third round of winter testing and acceptance, and has officially entered the final preparation stage before delivery. According to the plan, the vehicle will be officially delivered in March.
Image source: NIO
The NIO ET9 continues the brand's signature style, with the Double-Dash daytime running lights extending further to the sides. Paired with the HDPL intelligent high-definition projection headlights, this not only enhances the vehicle's recognizability but also utilizes the Aquila 2.0 super-sensing system to project zebra crossings for pedestrians and create a tracking light carpet effect when turning. The rear's continuous light strip uses 240 ultra-red LED light sources.
Dongfeng Nissan N7 launched, equipped with 710 LED light sources
On March 1st, Dongfeng Nissan held a technology launch event. During the event, the company announced that the Dongfeng Nissan N7 will begin pre-sales in April, with a price expected to be below 200,000 yuan.
Image source: Dongfeng Nissan
In terms of appearance, the N7 features a closed front fascia and split headlights, with a continuous LED light strip above. The new car boasts 710 LED light sources and 882 OLED lighting units, and is also equipped with a Magic Canvas front and rear light interaction system. The N7's interior features 256-color waterfall-style intelligent ambient lighting.
The GAC Aion UT comes standard with cute bird-shaped LED headlights.
On February 28th, the GAC Aion UT was launched, priced from 69,800 yuan to 101,800 yuan. All Aion UT models come standard with cute bird-eye LED headlights and LED taillights, and LED daytime running lights are offered as a limited-time free gift.
Image source: GAC Aion
Changan unveils the Q07, equipped with a continuous LED light strip and DLP projection headlights.
On February 27th, Changan Automobile officially released its new intelligent strategy for Changan Qiyuan and launched its first model under the plan – the Changan Qiyuan Q07. Positioned as a large five-seater intelligent SUV, the Q07 boasts "extra-large space, extra-long range, and super-intelligent features" as its core selling points, creating a "fourth-generation mobile home" concept.
Image source: Changan Automobile
In terms of lighting, the Q07 features a continuous LED light strip and DLP projection headlights (supporting 150-inch projection). For displays, the Q07 cabin is equipped with a 15.6-inch rotating central control screen, a 12.8-inch passenger entertainment screen, and an AR-HUD, featuring a large TianShu model that supports full-scene voice interaction and personalized services.
LED technology is rapidly penetrating the automotive market in the form of displays and lighting . The latest automotive products demonstrate that LED technology has permeated all price segments of vehicles. In lighting, LEDs bring diverse design features to cars, such as continuous front fascias and taillights, and provide smarter, more information-rich, and entertaining lighting, enhancing human-vehicle interaction and improving driving safety. In displays, LEDs contribute to the development of smart cockpits by creating diverse high-definition displays.
According to the "2024 Global Automotive LED Market - Lighting and Display Product Trends" report, in 2024, automakers actively introduced adaptive headlights (ADB), Mini LED taillights, full-width taillights, grille lamps/full-width taillights, grille lamps/full-width headlight strips, full-strini ambient display tools, and front-strini ambient lighting.
Driven by automakers, the market demand for automotive lighting/automotive LEDs is expected to grow steadily in 2024, reaching US$37.395 billion and US$3.445 billion respectively.
With continued growth in market demand, the automotive LED industry landscape is gradually changing. While international manufacturers such as ams, Osram, Nichia Chemical, and Seoul Semiconductor still dominate the market, domestic LED companies, leveraging the rapid rise of new energy vehicles in China, are gaining increasing market share in the automotive LED market. This is supported by a well-developed domestic LED industry chain, offering faster service response, more customized services, increasingly optimized LED technology, and more cost-effective products.
Jinko Solar, Jufeng Optoelectronics, Hongli Zhihui, Ruifeng Optoelectronics, Jingneng Optoelectronics, Shengpu Optoelectronics, and other domestic LED companies have entered the supply chains of many domestic and foreign car manufacturers with their rich portfolio of interior and exterior LED products. Domestic LED companies have also become the main driving force for accelerating the adoption of LED technology in vehicles.
Looking ahead, with the development of the four new trends in the automotive industry (electrification, connectivity, intelligence, and sharing), the automotive market will continue to bring more opportunities to the LED industry. Domestic LED companies, in order to break free from the fierce competition of the traditional market and explore new growth areas, will also place greater emphasis on developing the automotive LED market, bringing a wealth of high-end LED technologies to the automotive sector and helping automotive products move towards a more technologically advanced direction. (Text: Irving)
