HELLA wins two innovation awards for its Digital FlatLight Technology in China

Lippstadt/Shanghai, 17 November 2022 HELLA, the automotive supplier operating under the FORVIA umbrella brand, has received two industrial innovation awards in China. The two awards are the “Jinji Award” initiated by Gasgoo, a leading Chinese automotive web platform in China, and the "Automotive Innovation and Technology Award" jointly awarded by AI Automotive Manufacturing, an industry renowned magazine, and the Institute of Automotive Engineering (ika) of RWTH Aachen University in China. The “Jinji Award” specially recognizes the technical advancement of the HELLA solution. The Automotive Innovation and Technology Award specifically recognizes the innovative strength and industrial influence of HELLA’s lighting solutions.

"We are delighted that our Digital FlatLight technology has been recognized by many well-known local media outlets and the industry," says Kai Qin who is responsible for the Product center of the rear lamp business of HELLA in China. "For a long time now, rear lighting has not only fulfilled important safety functions, but also offers a wide range of possibilities for creating individual lighting signatures. Our Digital FlatLight technology is a big step towards the future, taking design, performance and functionality to a new level and contributing significantly to vehicle personalization and the vision of a communicating vehicle."

"HELLA is committed to providing customers with inspiration and new selling points through advanced technology,” says Ivan Wang, Vice President Sales of the Business Group Lighting in China. “With our Digital FlatLight, we have not only greatly improved the functionality and efficiency of the rear lamp, but will also improve the value from pure function to "communication through the technological upgrade. We are currently in advanced discussions with local and global customers and plan to bring this new technology to market in the coming years." With the FlatLight | µMX technology, HELLA already presented an innovative light guide concept using micro-optics at the beginning of 2021. It enables particularly homogeneously illuminated surfaces with an extremely low module depth of only 5 millimetres. At the same time, the technology combines high efficiency with a wide range of design options, since the front surface of the module can be masked with different decors. Based on an initial customer order, the FlatLight | µMX technology is expected to go into series production for the first time in mid-2024.

The Digital FlatLight, for which HELLA has now received the two awards in China, is based on the FlatLight | µMX optical system. On this basis, it is possible to equip simpler equipment variants with FlatLight and, for example, to expand the functionality of the better equipped variants by adding a SmartGlass display. With the Digital FlatLight, new signatures can be easily programmed for a possible facelift. New business models such as the installation and adaptation of graphics via apps or software updates are also conceivable in this context. Another plus point: when switched off, the Digital FlatLight impresses with its "Black Panel" look, a homogeneous glossy black surface. Alternatively, the SmartGlass can be used to make the selected signature visible even when it is not illuminated.