Automotive GaN LED Market to Reach $1 Billion in 2014

24 October—Market research firm IHS Technology (Englewood, Colo., USA) forecasts that market revenue from gallium nitride (GaN)-packaged LEDs in automotive applications will exceed US$1 billion in 2014 for the first time. Industry revenue is expected to grow 11 percent this year to US$1.05 billion, up from US$943 million in 2013. By 2018, the market is forecast to reach US$1.3 billion as more auto manufacturers adopt the use of LEDs in vehicles.

Automakers such as Audi use LEDs in vehicles in applications such as headlamps, daytime running lights, and indoor ambient lighting. Exterior applications are the highest growing segment, where LEDs are used less commonly but offer higher value per vehicle to both automakers and consumers. The three leading suppliers of LEDs to the automotive market are Osram (Munich, Germany), Nichia (Tokushima, Japan) and Philips Lumileds (San Jose, Calif., USA), all three of which are especially dominant in exterior LEDs.