IAA Transportation 2026: How Interior Lighting Is Shaping the Future of Commercial Vehicle Cabins

Interior Lighting is one of FORVIA HELLA's key focus topics at IAA Transportation 2026. In this interview, Manuela Ichim, Head of Interior Lighting, shares her perspective on the evolving role of lighting in commercial vehicle cabins and explains how modular lighting concepts can enhance driver comfort, safety and vehicle interaction while helping manufacturers manage complexity and costs.

The keypoints in short

• Interior lighting enhances comfort, orientation and safety while strengthening the vehicle manufacturer’s brand identity
• Modular RGB lighting concepts combine distinctive design with scalable, cost-effective and robust series solutions
• Intelligent lighting functions support driver–vehicle interaction by intuitively communicating information, vehicle states and warnings

The commercial vehicle cabin is no longer only a functional workplace. For many drivers, it is also a space where they spend long hours, rest and interact with increasingly complex vehicle functions.

Interior lighting helps create an environment that is comfortable, intuitive and adapted to different driving, working and resting situations. It supports orientation, improves the perceived quality of the cabin and gives vehicle manufacturers an opportunity to create a distinctive brand identity.

Well-designed interior lighting provides the right light where it is needed while avoiding glare, reflections and unnecessary distraction.

Functional lighting supports activities such as entering the cabin, reading, searching for objects or operating controls. Ambient and indirect lighting can create a calmer and more comfortable atmosphere, particularly during night driving.

Lighting can also guide the driver’s attention towards relevant areas or information. The objective is therefore not simply to add more light, but to provide the appropriate intensity, color and light distribution for each situation.

Manufacturers need to combine functionality, comfort, safety and a distinctive design within limited installation space and demanding cost targets.

At the same time, commercial vehicle solutions must withstand long operating hours, vibration, temperature variations and long product lifetimes. They also need to support different cabin variants, platforms and voltage architectures.

Another important challenge is managing complexity. Customers want more lighting features and greater differentiation, but they also need scalable and cost-effective solutions.

By using common lighting modules or lamps across several cabin applications and adapting the light guide, shape or optical element, manufacturers can create different lighting effects while reducing the number of unique components and simplifying integration and validation.

FORVIA HELLA supports customers from the first design idea through to a technically feasible and industrialized lighting solution.

A key example is our modular RGB approach. The same RGB module can be combined with different light guides, geometries and installation concepts to serve several areas of the cabin, such as doors, speakers, footwells or decorative surfaces.

Together with the customer, we can define a concept that uses as many common modules and lamps as possible throughout the cabin. This helps reduce complexity and cost while still allowing differentiation through the optical design, light distribution and integration into the cabin architecture.

At the same time, we have the development and production capabilities required to turn these concepts into robust series solutions. Technologies such as RGB color calibration help ensure a consistent color appearance between different lamps, while conformal coating can protect electronic components against moisture, contamination and demanding environmental conditions.

This enables us to combine creativity and modularity with the technical reliability required for commercial vehicle applications.

Interior lighting can become an intuitive communication interface between the vehicle and the driver.

Light can support visual notifications, indicate different vehicle states or guide the driver’s attention towards relevant information. Color, intensity, position or dynamic lighting effects can be used to communicate warnings, assistance-system activity, charging status or other vehicle functions.

A modular lighting concept can also help create a consistent visual language across different areas of the cabin. However, the information must always be clear and carefully designed so that it supports the driver without becoming distracting or overwhelming.