In the mid-1980s, LEDs began to be used in automotive center high-mounted brake lights (CHMSL). In 1986, Nissan used 72 φ5mm LEDs as the center high-mounted brake light on its 300ZX model, marking the beginning of LED applications in the automotive field. In the 1990s, LEDs, a new solid-state light source, were widely adopted for the backlighting of automotive instrument panel LCD panels.
After the turn of the century, with the increase in LED power and brightness, LEDs were widely used in automotive lighting and signaling systems, in addition to headlights. my country's first LED automotive light was the high-mounted brake light for the Santana 2000 sedan. It was jointly developed by the Shanghai Automotive Electronics Engineering Center and Shanghai Xiaoxi Automotive Lighting Co., Ltd., and went into production in 2000 after being certified by Shanghai Volkswagen. In 2008, LED automotive lights debuted. Compared to xenon lamps, they can achieve the highest instantaneous brightness, are smaller, and are more energy-efficient, reaching 100 lumens per watt. However, the lighting effect of a single LED is not good; therefore, LEDs are generally used in combination.
With technological advancements, automotive headlights have gradually evolved into matrix LED headlights. Micro LED has ushered in the era of high-pixel lighting. Some high-end models have already adopted this technology, including the Porsche Cayenne, NIO ET9, Volkswagen Tiguan L Pro, and the top-of-the-line Touareg. The domestic LED automotive lighting industry experienced rapid growth in the mid-to-late 2020s, with Chinese companies achieving significant breakthroughs in core technologies such as Micro LED and ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) technology, gradually breaking the foreign monopoly and reshaping the global competitive landscape.
By 2024, the standard installation rate of LED headlights in passenger vehicles in the Chinese market reached 81.3%, making LED headlights the mainstream choice for automotive lighting.
