With the world’s largest Frankfurt Motor Show successfully concluding on Sept. 22, 2013, LED automotive lighting manufacturers that have missed out may be pondering where the next opportunity lies. There are nearly 200 automotive shows every year, but not all are suitable for LED automotive lighting manufacturers. It can be confusing for manufacturers to decide which shows are the best fit for their niche and targeted buyers. In this article, LEDinside gives an overview of what to expect and at three major automotive shows towards the end of 2013.

Visitors look at the latest Porsche cars at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in September.  (LEDinside/ Robe Lighting)

So which automotive show should I go to?

LED car lights tend to be sidelined at most car shows where latest automobile designs are the main attraction. Some shows can be overtly regional focused, and may be a major put off for small to midsized international LED manufacturers. A survey conducted by LEDinside editorial team revealed SEMA, which concluded on Nov. 8 is the most ideal for small-mid sized LED automotive lighting manufacturers. 

The show hosted in Las Vegas from Nov. 5-8, 2013 attracted mostly small to midsized U.S. and Asian manufacturers. Out of the total of 59 LED lighting manufacturers attending the show, 49.16% were Asian manufacturers, including those from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. Chinese LED automotive lighting manufacturers will be the largest Asian group with a total of 15 companies, while Taiwanese manufacturers trailed behind with nine. North American LED automotive lighting manufacturers will still make up 50.4% of lighting exhibitors at SEMA, with U.S. manufacturers dominating the show. Only one Canadian manufacturer Hamsar Diversco Inc. that sells LED strip lights and utility lights will be participating. 

Products being displayed at SEMA are mostly LED strip lights, bar lights and tail lights with only eight companies offering DRL products or LED headlights, such as U.S. manufacturer LED Post, Canadian manufacturer Hamsar Diversco inc., and Taiwanese LED manufacturer Sirius Lighting, Chinese manufacturer Dinford (Shenzhen) Co. and others. For further details please see chart at the bottom or SEMA website. 

Table 1.  A selection of SEMA attendees

Small-mid sized automotive LED lighting manufacturers might be trying their luck at some of the other auto shows, such as the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show in early December. Current available information indicates only 12 LED automotive lighting manufacturers will be attending the show that is nearly entirely dominated by Japanese manufacturers. Only three LED automotive lighting manufacturers from another country including German manufacturer Continental with its LED driver assistance system, German car component manufacturer Bosch, and Indian LED head lamps and rear lamps manufacturer Samvardhana Motherson Group will be joining the show this year. 

The lack of diversity might be explained with the unfortunate overlapping LA Auto Show in Las Vegas during the same period. (The LA Auto Show has not published detailed exhibitor information yet.) At the moment automotive lighting participants at Tokyo Motor Show appear to be large Japanese or German manufacturers. Products to be on display at the Tokyo Motor Show also tend to be more technologically advanced then SEMA, with a few LED COB manufacturers and chip packagers pitching in, such as Molex and NGK Spark Plug Co. Other products to make an appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show include LED headlamps and LED tail or rear lights.

Table 2. Tokyo Motor Show 2013 attendees

The Frankfurt Motor Show that concluded in September also shares similar issues with the Tokyo Motor Show, where it is overtly regional focused. The five LED automotive lighting manufacturers at the show are all European. This might be explained by the fact that the Frankfurt Motor Show tends to focus on the OEM car market, which at the moment is still dominated by major European lighting manufacturers, such as German manufacturer Osram and Dutch manufacturer Philips. Osram even went as far as renting a booth at the show this year. Other LED automotive lighting manufacturers included, Dancar Autosikring’s LED position lights, LED ceramic component maker CermaTec, and LED light bar manufacturer Firmengruppe Hänsch Holding.

Table 3. Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 Attendees

Manufacturers need to choose wisely, so precious resources are not wasted at the wrong shows. Below are a list of upcoming shows towards the end of 2013:

Table 4. Remaining automotive shows from November to December, 2013