Automotive lighting dominated by five players

Author: EIS Release Date: Apr 21, 2022

The automotive lighting market is dominated by five big players, Koito, Marelli, Valeo, Hella (now Forvia), and Stanley, says Yole Developpement.

 

These top 5 represented 66% of the market in 2021.

 

The Asian market is dominated by Japanese companies, with Koito and Stanley having captured 44% of the market.

 

In Europe, the automotive lighting industry is dominated by local players: the automotive lighting part of Marelli, Hella, Valeo, and ZKW.

 

The North American market, representing almost $6 billion in 2021, is led by the Japanese company, Koito, closely followed by the French company, Valeo.

 

Players adopt different strategies to address the automotive lighting market. Marelli and Hella are, for example, primarily technology-oriented. Both companies focus on high-end applications, while Koito, Valeo, and Stanley mainly focus their development on the middle-end segment.

 

The automotive lighting market is an ever-evolving industry, as numerous mergers and acquisitions illustrate. Faurecia acquiring Hella and Plastic Omnium acquiring ams OSRAM Automotive Lighting Systems GmbH (AMLS) show that lighting is not limited to the front and rear.

 

Lighting is now integrated into other parts of the vehicle. With lighting becoming more horizontal, new components such as the grille or the logo are now illuminated.

 

Lighting is evolving from a basic functional application in the past to include personalization, communication, and ADAS functionalities now.

 

From the rear to the front, lighting has evolved from a purely functional application with no real added value to more intelligent applications, offering personalization, communication, and driver assistance.

 

While the main applications continue their evolution with more complex technologies embedded, new applications are emerging, especially around the car, such as logo and grille illumination and also near-field projections.

 

These new applications will be used for personalization, safety and communication.