The automotive industry's intelligentization and electrification processes have accelerated significantly in recent years, and this wave of transformation has profoundly influenced the development trend of automotive lighting. Today, the functions of automotive lighting are being upgraded, and its importance is increasing daily. Of particular note is the continued expansion of LED technology's penetration rate, which has become a core light source technology in the automotive lighting field, accompanying the upgrading of automotive lighting requirements.
It is projected that due to pressure from market competition and cost reductions, automakers are actively marketing advanced automotive lighting technologies as high-value-added products, driving stable growth in demand for automotive lighting/automotive LEDs in 2024, reaching US$37.395 billion and US$3.445 billion respectively.
This trend is also directly reflected in the operating conditions of automotive lighting companies. Recently, many domestic and foreign listed automotive lighting companies have successively released their 2024 annual reports. According to the reports, most companies have made significant progress in new technology research and development and market expansion, jointly promoting the advancement and application of automotive LED lighting technology.
Capitalizing on the automotive lighting market, LED supply chain companies are reporting impressive performance . The continued development of the automotive industry has brought opportunities to downstream LED lighting manufacturers. Benefiting from this, Xingyu Technology achieved significant performance growth in 2024, with operating revenue reaching 13.253 billion yuan, a 29.32% increase compared to the same period last year. Revenue from automotive lighting products reached 12.454 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.75%.
Currently, Xingyu Technology is actively investing in the research and application of new technologies, such as iterative Micro LED intelligent headlights, Mini/OLED pixel-style interactive lights, innovative material intelligent digital grilles, lighting controllers, and sensing vehicle lighting self-closed-loop systems, and is committed to integrating aesthetic design with intelligent interaction.
As participants in the automotive lighting field, Hongli Zhihui and Foshan Lighting have also seen their automotive lighting businesses grow.
In 2024, Hongli Zhihui's LED automotive lighting business achieved revenue of RMB 810 million, accounting for 19.15% of total revenue, with a gross profit margin of 25.90%. The company continues to expand its domestic and international passenger car and commercial vehicle markets, and strengthens the research and development and promotion of technologies such as ADB headlights.
In the passenger vehicle sector, Hongli Zhihui has successfully secured several new project contracts and achieved mass production, entering the supply chain systems of several well-known domestic automakers. Meanwhile, its automotive-grade LEDs are expected to enter mass production in 2025. In terms of technology research and development, Hongli Zhihui has completed the production of prototypes for ADB headlights and Mini LED taillights, and is jointly developing motorcycle ADB headlights with two-wheeled vehicle customers, with the aim of implementation in 2025.
In 2024, Foshan Lighting's automotive lighting products generated revenue of 2.107 billion yuan, accounting for 23.29% of total revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of 15.13%. The company actively expanded its customer base to include mid-to-high-end automakers, driving the implementation of 15 new model projects.
Debang Lighting focuses on the "automotive lighting + vehicle controller" field. Its automotive business segment achieved revenue of 596 million yuan in 2024, a slight decrease of 4.43% year-on-year. Nevertheless, many of the company's projects have officially entered mass production, and the total amount of newly added designated projects in the year has reached a record high, showing a trend of synergistic development between new and old businesses.
Turning attention to upstream companies in the automotive LED lighting industry chain, such as Nationstar Optoelectronics, Jinko Electronics, Refond Optoelectronics, and Jufeng Optoelectronics, they are all seizing the opportunities brought about by the upgrading of the automotive industry and actively expanding the automotive LED market.
In 2024, Nationstar Optoelectronics successfully entered the new energy vehicle supply chain, securing orders for vehicle lights, ambient lights, HUDs, and other products. Its tens of thousands of pixel Micro LED light source modules achieved high-density integration.
Jinko Electronics has achieved vertical integration in the field of automotive intelligent vision, from LED devices and modules to systems. In 2024, the revenue of this business reached RMB 1.023 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33%. The company has established strategic partnerships with multiple OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, providing product solutions including automotive-grade LED devices and modules for intelligent automotive lighting.
Refond Optoelectronics' sales revenue of automotive LED products increased by 44% year-on-year in 2024. The company actively expanded its customer base and launched new products such as ADB matrix light sources/modules, second-generation ceramic high-power technology, and diamond-based ultra-high power density packaging.
Jufeng Optoelectronics has a comprehensive layout in the automotive lighting market and has entered the supply chains of OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers such as SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, Dongfeng Nissan, NIO, Leapmotor, Valeo, Marelli, and Xingyu Auto Lighting. Its high-power products have also successfully entered the resource pools of SAIC Volkswagen, GAC, Geely, Valeo, etc., and have won the adoption of brands such as Zhiji, GAC, Chery, and Changan in the field of automotive ISD.
Image source: Paixin.com licensed image library
The Transformation of the LED Automotive Lighting Industry Under the Wave of Intelligentization <br /> In summary, the automotive and automotive LED market showed steady growth in 2024, which was directly reflected in the performance of companies across the industry chain. Whether it's OEM lighting companies like Xingyu Lighting, Hongli Zhihui, Foshan Lighting, and Debang Lighting, or LED packaging companies like Guoxing Optoelectronics, Jinko Electronics, Jufeng Optoelectronics, and Ruifeng Optoelectronics, all have benefited to varying degrees from the intelligentization and electrification trends in the automotive industry, demonstrating a positive attitude in new technology R&D and market expansion. However, this is merely the surface; a deeper transformation is being driven by the wave of intelligentization, reshaping the entire automotive lighting industry landscape.
The evolution of the automotive industry towards "new four modernizations" is driving the automotive lighting industry towards intelligence, safety, and interactivity. In terms of headlights, domestic LED suppliers are actively researching and applying adaptive high beam (ADB) technology, continuously increasing the number of pixels and providing diversified solutions for vehicle lighting companies. The application of Micro LED technology is expected to improve ADB performance.
According to analysis, with the introduction of Micro LED pixel arrays into adaptive headlights, the number of pixels that can be precisely and independently digitally controlled will be greatly increased to 100,000 pixels. The more LED pixels there are, the more flexibly the illumination area can be adjusted to increase driving safety and meet the regulatory requirements of various regional markets. This will help automotive lighting manufacturers reduce the costs required for the development, production, and logistics of headlights in different regional markets.
Although the application of Micro LED technology in intelligent automotive lighting is still in its early stages, some high-end models have already begun to adopt it. For example, the Porsche Cayenne, NIO ET9, Volkswagen Tiguan L Pro, and the top-of-the-line Touareg are equipped with Micro LED headlights. Furthermore, the Buick Wildcat concept car also showcased the potential applications of Micro LED technology in future automotive lighting.
Furthermore, the application of LED pixelated headlights and taillights is becoming increasingly widespread, featuring information interaction functions, while interior ambient lighting is also developing towards intelligence and personalization. With the advancement of autonomous driving technology, the importance of ADS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) sign lights is gradually increasing.
While intelligent technology brings opportunities, it also presents challenges, such as the maturity and cost of Micro LED technology, the standards and regulations for intelligent automotive lighting, and data security issues. Facing an era of both change and opportunity, companies across the automotive lighting and LED industry chain are actively investing in R&D and exploring innovative business models to secure a favorable position in the future intelligent automotive lighting market. Ultimately, which companies will successfully overcome the challenges, seize the opportunities, and achieve sustainable development remains to be seen. (Text: Mia)
