HELLA exhibits innovative customized lighting technology at the Shanghai ALE 2019

• HELLA innovates lighting technology with customized vehicle lighting and strengthens road safety with state-of-the-art lighting solutions
• HELLA headlamps enhance driving comfort
• Customization with modern and interactive LED tail lights
• Differentiated interior lighting with ambient lighting technology and optimized low-cost body lighting solutions

Shanghai, 21 March 2019. Lighting technology expert HELLA attended the Fifth Shanghai International Auto Lamp Exhibition (ALE) and Fourteenth Shanghai Automobile Lamp Industry Development Forum at the Shanghai Automobile Exhibition Center in Anting, Shanghai from 21-22 March 2019. HELLA displayed its newest customized lighting technology product range, which reflected its focus on the local market. Innovative lighting technology meets customized vehicle lighting and leading technology in vehicle lighting is employed to continuously strengthen the safety and comfort on the road. During the Forum, HELLA’s technical experts also shared information about HELLA’s modular LED headlamp lighting series, the innovative application of edge lighting technology in taillights, and the future development of vehicle taillights, and interior lighting solutions.

HELLA innovates lighting technology with customized vehicle lighting

China is a key growth market for the automotive industry. HELLA’s primary measures for achieving customized vehicle lighting technology are to continuously expand and optimize its vehicle lighting technology and business strategy in China. HELLA increases its investment in research and development of customized technology and uses its expertise to cultivate local research and development talent to strengthen the research and development team. These measures have resulted in brand new products, including headlamps, taillights, interior lighting, and body lighting, to be installed on models of independent brands.

“HELLA has been developing lighting solutions for the automotive industry for more than a hundred years and has brought numerous groundbreaking innovations such as high-resolution headlamps, and matrix LED interior lighting to the market during this time,” said Andreas Rummert, Executive Vice President Business Division Lighting APAC. “We are thus driving forward safety, energy efficiency, connectivity, digitalization and individualization. An important basis for this is to further strengthen cooperation with joint ventures and automotive manufacturers in China.”

HELLA headlamps enhance driving comfort

At the event, HELLA presented a headlamp that controls the low beam function through a compact, high-performance LED lens module. The optical system integration of this module increases optical efficiency by up to 80%. The high beam module uses matrix LED comprising 32 LED lights arranged in two rows. Each LED can be individually controlled, thereby achieving anti-glare high-beam lighting and electronic steering-adaptive functions. The precision matrix lighting enhances the safety of the driver and other road users.

Even more advanced is a headlamp that was tailor-made for an independent brand model, It comprehensively takes safety, driver comfort, and design into consideration. The high and low beam of this headlamp enable individual adjustments by using 6 independent reflector bowl units, achieving a perfect interaction between high and low beam, which increases road illumination and safety. Focusing on lighting safety while paying attention to the driver’s comfort is also one direction of vehicle lighting research and development. This headlamp is equipped with a blue welcome function, with lights turning on sequentially in a customized outward pattern. This increases the driver’s comfort, especially in parking situations with insufficient lighting. The headlamp uses light guiding technology and “the thick wall method" to achieve the three-in-one functions of daytime running lamps, position lamps and turn signals while taking a limited design space into consideration.

Futuristic and interactive LED taillights demonstrate customization

The exhibit also introduced two end-to-end LED taillights, developed respectively for a joint-venture brand and an independent brand. One of these taillights uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology on the rear position lamps, with the combined LED array and OLED light source giving the taillight a unique appearance. The segmented OLED design provides three-step timed activation and up to a 90-degree smooth conversion. Position lamps equipped with LED array and OLED technology can also offer “coming home” and “leaving home” scenarios. The other taillight has a combined all-LED and thin light guide film design. The 1.6-meter end-to-end position lamp uses new materials to produce even and gentle lighting, while displaying the distinct car silhouette. Small reversing lamp modules can activate automatically to warn the following traffic about safety concerns. Dynamic steering and braking functions are an effective warning sign for third parties and can help to prevent rear-end collisions. An ideal combination of hard- and software integrates and enhances both design and function.

In addition to end-to-end taillights, HELLA also introduced a unique taillight with an all-LED design and an innovative application of edge lighting technology. The combination of light guide and edge lighting technology delivers an even and eye-catching linear signal light and a brand new vertical turn signal function.  

Ambient lighting technology offers differentiated interior lighting and low-cost body lighting optimization solutions

HELLA’s lighting business in China also includes interior and body lighting. The exhibited interior top control was developed for an independent brand model and integrates lighting and electronic functions in one composite device, combining door controls, sunroof and sun visor controls, and an eyeglasses holder. All features serve to improve the passenger’s comfort. A touch-activated reading light, 72-color RGB ambient lighting, waterfall lighting, and other advanced lighting configurations fully display the spirit of future technology.     

The exhibited modular front fog light is also equipped with a turn signal function. By combining the cooling mechanisms, light distribution lens, reflectors, and electronic devices, the high-quality light meets global fog light certification requirements. The casing and exterior appearance can be designed according to the customer’s specifications. HELLA has invested in the molds and owns them. This reduces customer investments and serves as a low-cost optimization solution.