Marelli Frank Huber Keynote for DVN Munich introduction

I took time to discuss with Frank Huber in January to exchange about challenges for automotive and especially Automotive Lighting market for the coming years. Frank Huber has been President of Marelli’s Automotive Lighting and Sensing business since March 2024. He joined from Forvia, where he headed their flagship business Automotive Seating for two years. Before, he held leadership positions at Hella in China, the U.S., Mexico and globally – including CEO of the company’s Lighting business, which became part of Forvia in 2024. Frank also worked at McKinsey, Audi, Mercedes-AMG and Liebherr Aerospace. He holds a PhD in Automotive Engineering and an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School.???

Paul-Henri Matha: After one year as President of Marelli’s Automotive Lighting & Sensing business, and after having been out of lighting for two years (Forvia Seating), are you happy to be back in the lighting community?

Frank Huber: Absolutely, Lighting is my passion. To me, it is one of the most exciting features of a vehicle. Lighting is emotional, defining the vehicle personality to a large extent, bringing the OEM’s brand identity to life, and it is crucial to safety and comfort. It is key to creating a unique customer experience. Joining Marelli was a great opportunity to get back into this highly innovative, tech-driven and dynamic business. I really enjoy working with the great team here and with our partners on the lighting technologies of the future.

P.H.M: Have you noticed some changes in only 2 years?

F.H: I have continuously been following what was going on in lighting, but yes, there have been remarkable advancements while I was away. The emphasis on integrating lighting with advanced sensing and computing technologies has become more pronounced, particularly with the increasing demand for intelligent and adaptive lighting solutions. Especially in combination with advanced optical systems. Additionally, developments in sustainability, such as energy-efficient LEDs and materials, continue to push the boundaries of what's possible and enable new use cases.

P.H.M: And what can you say about Marelli?

F.H: Marelli is an exceptional company with a deep commitment to innovation, quality, and co-creation with our customers and partners. Our focus is on driving the development of technology and design, creating cutting-edge solutions that exceed the demands and needs of our customers. It is all about creating end-to-end a unique user experience and being highly competitive. The team at Marelli is very talented, passionate, flexible and committed. I am proud to be part of it.

P.H.M: How do you see the market evolution and especially the automotive lighting market evolution? The market is still growing, we see more and more players, but in the same time competition is increasing.

F.H: The automotive industry is in the midst of the largest transformation in its history. The key factors are not only electrification, the software-defined vehicle and new brands, but also different market dynamics and a highly competitive landscape in each region. All this is challenging – I’d say automotive is facing the perfect storm. This does not only create challenges, but also huge opportunities for us as the desire for differentiation through new technologies and functionalities for a unique customer experience is massively increasing and competitors are struggling. Yes, there are new players in the market, and yes, the competition is getting harder. But we can make a difference through our operational excellence, high competitiveness, technological capabilities as well as our experience and global footprint.

P.H.M: China competition is hard. But we have seen some Marelli success like Nio ET9’s new HD lamp. What do you think about the Chinese market? (Nio will present more details about Nio ET9 during DVN event)

F.H: China is not only the largest, but also the most competitive automotive market. A key success factor is leveraging the local differences to our advantage. For example, we embrace the speed in China. We’ve just demonstrated our capabilities with the launch of Marelli’s first micro-LED headlights on the Chinese market for the impressive NIO ET9. Our team in China is highly autonomous, and we are able to drive innovations locally not only for our local customers but also for global applications.

P.H.M: In China’s HD lamps main focus is on projection. Marelli was the first set maker with DLP technology on Audi and Mercedes. Huawei or BYD are promoting DLP technology. Do you still see a future for DLP in China? You have both technologies in your module portfolio.

F.H: Lighting is a key enabler of brand identity. However, there are differences between Europe and China in the deployment of HD lighting. In Europe, the HD technology is primarily used to enhance the performance of main lighting functions, such as low beam, high beam, and adaptive driving beam, as well as selected ground projections. Chinese OEMs in contrary focus on what I’d call show and entertainment through HD technology. These variations in use cases result in different requirements for resolution, sharpness, and field of illumination. The DMD (digital mirror device) technology, particularly with the RGB option, aligns well with Chinese demands.

Marelli offers the full range of DMD options in both white and RGB light. We also recognize China's growing interest in micro-LED 25,000-pixel systems. We will thoroughly analyze HD take rates and market acceptance in China to define the mid-term HD strategy for different markets in order to continuously create a unique customer experience.

P.H.M: Marelli has a very strong position in India and Brazil. How do you see these markets’ evolution (in terms of technology)?

F.H: Both markets are growing with a focus on high-performance solutions that are affordable at the same time. With our platform and standardized solutions, we are well-positioned to serve these markets effectively. For us, it has been crucial to empower our regional teams to take the lead on region-specific technologies and processes. At the same time, clearly defining global standards and balancing them with the necessary regional flexibility is essential.

Our greatest asset are our people. In both countries, we are proud to have skilled, dynamic, and agile teams that have achieved leading positions in their lighting markets.

The priorities in both countries are safety and sustainability. Since driving at night is significantly more dangerous, high-quality headlights are essential. Additionally, energy consumption is a crucial consideration, even for lamps. Besides cost, there is an increasing focus on style and technology in these markets, which makes us the partner of choice in India and Brazil.

Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) is currently the target for premium cars in the Indian and Brazilian markets, but it remains an expensive option due to the need for cameras and the according electrical/electronic architecture. Therefore, the lower market segments require an intermediate solution. The automatic high beam technology can be this in-between step in the coming years.

P.H.M: SDV is creating a revolution in function development and SW repartition between OEM, tier1 and service companies. For the current SDV vehicles on the road, lighting is still conservative (only LIN or CAN with embedded SW). Do you think that SW will be removed from lamps to OEM domain controllers or main controllers? What do you think about this? (we have seen a lot of Marelli presentations about SaaS or SaaP)

(Wolfgang RITTER will speak about this topic in DVN Munich event)

F.H: We see the trend towards centralizing dedicated software functions and features in a light domain controller, particularly for high-resolution lighting and digital light applications. For less complex lamp systems, we are transitioning to completely removing embedded software from the lamps. This approach offers several advantages, such as enhanced system reliability, cost and energy reduction, easier integration into vehicle networks, increased security, and features on demand. Additional benefits include enabling software as a service (SaaS) and software as a product (SaaP) in the new age of software-defined vehicles, and a faster time to market. These trends align with Marelli's vision of lighting within zonal architectures, where the zonal computer serves as a powerful platform to host the software, and the lamp itself employs standardized hardware driver architectures. This clear separation of hardware from software ensures an affordable system concept.

P.H.M: all European OEMs want to accelerate development speed. Everybody is talking about AI. Will it come (is it already there?) for CAD development, simulation? This could accelerate the loops between designers and engineers.

F.H: The acceleration of development speed is a key priority for European OEMs, and artificial intelligence (AI) is indeed playing a crucial role in achieving this. AI is becoming more and more important in various areas of product development, including CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and simulation, and has the potential to significantly enhance these processes

P.H.M: ?You will be the keynote speaker on the first day at Munich. What is your message to lighting community and what do you expect from this Munich event?

F.H: I am honoured to be the keynote speaker on the first day, and I look forward to an inspiring and productive time with our lighting community. As I said before, light is a key enabler of brand identity and safety, and we all stand at the intersection of technology and design. Our collective efforts can lead to breakthroughs that enhance safety, efficiency, and sustainability in lighting solutions worldwide. Forward thinking, collaboration where possible and productive competition will lead to a bright future.

From this Munich event, I expect stimulating discussions, the exchange of ideas, and also new partnership. It is a unique opportunity to learn from and inspire one another, and I am excited to see how the insights gained here will translate into real-world innovations.?

Agenda and registration :

DVN Munich Workshop, Feb. 19-20, 2025 - DVN