Automotive lighting: LED headlights

The World Health Organization highlighted findings that approximately 1.3 million people die every year due to car collisions, in an article published in June this year. Between 20 million and 50 million more people suffer nonfatal injuries and many are left with a disability after their accidents. Aside from death and injury, these accidents also typically bring considerable economic losses to those involved, arising from the time and cost of hospitalization and the productivity lost for family members who must take care of the injured. According to the WHO findings, these accidents can cost 3 percent of a country's GDP in a given year.

Many of the factors contributing to road accidents are human, but one area where technology and components make a difference is in improved visibility, particularly at night. Drivers should be able to see at least 12 seconds of traveling distance ahead of them, according to Saskatchewan Driver's Handbook, and one way many manufacturers are achieving this is by integrating LED chips with high luminous flux levels into their recent headlight models. LED headlights, however, generally carry a higher price tag than HIDs and halogen bulbs - a price worth paying for their better brightness levels, durability, energy efficiency and longer life span.

Over a forecast period of seven years, the automotive lighting market is expected to exhibit a 5 percent CAGR and reach a value of $45 billion by 2027, according to research by Global Market Insights in July 2021. Among other factors including road safety, a notable trend driving this growth is the integration of LED lights with ADAS in autonomous vehicles. The increasing adoption of automotive LEDs across the Middle East and Latin America is also expected to drive growth.