COVER STORY

Auto lighting industry lights up innovations

Hella India Lighting guns for all round growth

India Japan Lighting focuses on multireflector all-LED headlamps

Magna presents D-optic LED headlamps

Autolite to focus on two-wheeler segment with its signature products

FIEM Industries sets new trends in automotive lighting

Phoenix Lamps revamps, eyes more export markets

Synopsys ‘LucidDrive’ offers design and analysis tools for automotive lighting

The Indian automotive lighting market is estimated to be worth about $3.1 billion by 2022, with a cumulative annual growth rate of over 5.5% from 2016. Lighting is a vital component in any automotive vehicle and plays an important role in the safety of the vehicle, the occupants and other road users.

The lighting system consists of lighting and signaling devices, which are placed at different locations such as front, rear, side, and interiors. Lighting provides illumination for the driver and helps other vehicle drivers and pedestrians on the road to detect the vehicle’s position, direction of movement, and size. It also enhances the aesthetic looks to both interior and exterior parts of the vehicle.

The Indian automotive lighting market growth is being influenced by factors like increased vehicle sales, new national regulations, increased focus on safety and demand for energy efficient lightings. The lighting industry is keeping pace with the new trends and innovations. New light-weight and energy efficient lighting is inspiring automotive designers. India Japan Lighting, Autolite India Ltd, Hella India Lighting, Fiem Industries, Phoenix Lamps Limited, Philips and Osram are among the key players of automotive lighting in the Indian market.

The automotive lighting market has witnessed the advent of incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, LED lighting and xenon lamps owing to the technological innovations and developments. Currently, the segment for LED lighting technology is gaining widespread popularity worldwide. LEDs are more efficient than other light sources, and they last longer. In general, the LED lights consume less power than halogens. Xenon lamps are used in the luxury segment introduced by global OEMs. They are not found feasible at present in India.

Low purchasing and replacement cost along with the easy availability of halogens influences positively the adoption of halogens in automotive lighting. Factors such as the enhanced aesthetics and longevity of halogen lamps are key factors that impact the halogen market. However, the high energy efficiency of LEDs is a key factor that is expected to limit the adoption of halogen lights in the coming years. At present, a major factor that restricts the LED market growth is its high cost; however, the ongoing technological advancements are expected to reduce cost and increase the adoption of LEDs in the future. This may lead to a gradual decline in the sales of halogen lights.

The Chennai-based India Japan Lighting (IJL), a 70:30 joint venture between Koito Japan and Lucas TVS, is developing multireflector all-LED headlamps. In order to provide cost effective LED solution to the Indian market it is working on various innovative solutions. Though the Light Emitting Diode (LED) headlamps are costlier than the conventional halogen bulbs, they are becoming popular owing to the various advantages. The lamp manufacturers are working on various new concepts to make LEDs more affordable.

Automotive lighting market leader Hella India Lighting (HIL) is gunning for all round growth in the Indian subcontinent. It is promoting modularistion concept in automotive lighting. Mass customisation or modularisation helps reduce the number of tools in use and allows

the company to develop and deliver signatures using various combinations in shorter period.

HIL’s Derabassi plant has been undergoing a round of upgrades and houses light testing facilities, NVH testing, CMMs and environmental chambers for new product development. The company has completed a round of expansion in March 2017 for LED lamps and projectors. It is on course for another round of expansion for auxiliary lamps and LED work lamp destined for Hella’s international commitments.

FIEM Industries Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers of automotive lighting & signalling equipment and rear view mirrors, is present in all type of automotive lightings. The lighting technology has slowly and steadily made a big leap in the recent years. The automotive OEMS are keen on upgraded and new generation lamps. Now LEDbased automotive lamps are in high demand.

Fiem had started manufacturing LED lights more than a decade ago and it was the first one to develop LED head lamp for 2-wheelers, which is not only meeting Indian AIS Standard but also meeting ECE norms. It was also the first one to introduce LED tail lamps for 2- wheelers in India. Now it is supplying all types of LED lamps to many 2-wheeler manufacturers in India and in Japan, the US, Italy and others.

Magna, a leading global automotive supplier, is introducing D-Optic LED headlamps to improve forward visibility for drivers and provide customized styling options for automakers. D-Optic lighting represents the next generation of LED headlamps and an auto-industry first by combining multiple high-power LEDs with precise, injection-moulded lenses to achieve high performance with efficient energy use.

D-Optic lighting is unique for automotive applications because it is scalable and is custom-developed for a vehicle’s specific shape and styling. LEDs and lenses can be added or subtracted to suit each unique design. The innovative headlamps make their market debut on the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse.

Autolite India Limited, the flagship company of the Autopal-MPG group, expands its horizons in the two-wheeler segment. The growth of the automotive industry in India is detailed as 80% in two-wheeler market, 15% in passenger car segment and 5% in the commercial vehicle segment. In line with that the company has tuned its objectives and widened the two-wheeler network. The company’s current presence is in the halogen bulbs in the two-wheeler aftermarket segment and it is very insignificant. But plans are sketched to widen its scope of two-wheeler business.

Phoenix Lamps Limited, manufacturer of wide range of halogen lamps for two-and three-wheelers, passenger cars, commercial vehicles and off road applications, is working on bringing new products and improving the standards and meeting the latest trends in the automotive lighting business. Phoenix Lamps, acquired by the automotive cable maker Suprajit Engineering Limited a couple of years ago, is one of the largest manufacturers of automotive halogen lamps catering to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket, with a production capacity of more than 80 million lamps a year.

The US-headquartered Synopsys, the embedded solution provider, advances the virtual simulation of adaptive headlights with its new version of ‘LucidDrive’ software. The software helps analyse the headlight’s performance during dynamic driving conditions. The company provides various solutions and the key to its success lies in the 5-pronged advantages: Speed and accuracy, safety, cost effectiveness, better product and easy design.