In recent years, the sales growth of new energy vehicles has continuously driven the sales of vehicle configurations. Among them, the more popular head-up display (HUD) technology has gradually become an important focus of OEMs and has been widely used in various mass-produced models.
Market size and growth
With the development of automobile intelligence and networking, HUD, as an important configuration to improve driving safety and convenience, has an increasing market demand. According to relevant data, in the first half of 2024, the delivery volume of W/AR HUD for passenger cars in the Chinese market reached 1.3556 million, a year-on-year increase of 45.82%, showing a high-speed growth trend in the market.
It is particularly noteworthy that AR-HUD (augmented reality head-up display) technology has gradually become a new hot spot in the market because it can provide richer information and more intuitive interactive experience. In the first half of 2024, the total delivery volume of AR-HUD front-mounted standard configuration was 348,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 5 times, and the delivery share exceeded 25%, showing a strong growth momentum.
Technology route and competition pattern
Diversification of technology routes: HUD’s optical technology mainly includes three solutions: TFT-LCD, DLP and LCoS. At present, TFT-LCD solutions dominate the market with its mature technology and cost advantages, but LCoS and DLP solutions are also developing rapidly. In particular, LCoS solutions have technical advantages such as high resolution and avoiding sunlight interference. Although the cost is high, it has no patent risk of DLP, so its advancement speed is also relatively fast, and it has great potential for future development.
Competitive landscape: In terms of market competition, domestic and foreign companies have increased their investment and launched their own HUD products. Domestic companies such as Huayang Group, Crystal Optoelectronics, and Huawei have occupied a certain market share in the AR-HUD field by virtue of their technology accumulation and market expansion. At the same time, global automotive parts manufacturers such as Nippon Seiki and Continental also occupy an important position in the HUD market.
Application fields and market demand
Wide application fields: HUD technology is not only used in traditional fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles, but also gradually penetrates into emerging fields such as autonomous driving and intelligent connected vehicles. With the development of intelligent driving technology and the growth of consumer demand for safe and convenient driving experience, the market demand for HUD will further expand.
Diversified market demand: Different consumers also have diversified demands for HUD. Some consumers pay more attention to the display effect and interactive experience of HUD, while others pay more attention to its cost-effectiveness and practicality. Therefore, when launching HUD products, car companies need to fully consider market demand and consumer preferences and provide diversified choices.
Future development trends
Cost reduction and increased penetration rate: With technological advancement and increased production, the production cost of HUD will be further reduced, thereby promoting its penetration into mid- and low-end models and increasing market penetration.
Technological innovation and upgrading: In the future, HUD technology will continue to innovate and upgrade in terms of display effect, interactive experience, and intelligence. For example, adopt more advanced projection technology, optimize optical design, integrate more sensors and algorithms, etc. to improve the performance and user experience of HUD.
Deep integration with the cockpit: The deep integration of HUD and the cockpit will be the future development trend. Through seamless connection with the intelligent cockpit system, HUD will be able to provide richer driving information and more convenient interaction methods, becoming an important part of the cockpit electronic solution and ADAS overall solution.
The optical market of vehicle-mounted head-up HUD is in a rapid development stage, with a continuously expanding market scale, diversified technical routes, and fierce competition. In the future, with the advancement of technology and the growth of market demand, HUD will play a more important role in the process of automotive intelligence and networking.
