The LED headlamp has passed brightness tests and is expected to be commercialized soon by local OEMs and aftermarket parts suppliers.
Members of the LED headlamp R&D alliance include LED manufacturers Everlight Electronics and Epistar, Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co. Ltd. (HAITEC), Yamaha Motor Taiwan, automotive lamp suppliers Ta Yih Industrial and Depo Auto Parts, and the government-sponsored Automotive Research and Testing Center (ARTC).
ARTC project manager Liao Hsueh-lung pointed out that his center had started R&D work on the LED headlamp at the same time as companies and research institutes in other nations. Currently, no LED headlamps have been adopted by automakers anywhere in the world, and if the commercialization process goes according to schedule, Liao expects Taiwan to take a leading position in the automotive/motorcycle LED headlamp application market.
Members of the R&D alliance are working toward separate goals within the project, Liao said. HAITEC for example, is responsible for the design integration of the automotive headlamps. Yulon, a Taiwanese automobile-manufacturing conglomerate involved in HAITEC, has decided to adopt LED headlamps in at least three car models currently under development.
Meanwhile, Yamaha Taiwan is working to adapt the product for future application in its PTW (powered two-wheeler) products. Depo and Ta Yih are developing and manufacturing LED headlamps for both the OE and AM auto-parts markets.
Liao said that ARTC is working on solving overheating problems in the LED headlamps, and is developing next-generation LEDs with higher efficacy.
The LED headlamp prototype is expected to be formally announced by ARTC in September, and the government-sponsored Technology Development Program (TDP) plans to transfer related techniques to local makers to further upgrade the Taiwan automotive-lighting industry's global competitiveness.
