While applications remain primarily conventional, makers are focusing R&D on enhancing performance and reliability.                                                           This comes as HB-LED's gain more ground in the automotive industry. In Hong Kong, demand for the product continues to strengthen, with nearly all European car makers adopting LED's for interiors.                                                                                                                                                                          In addition, more than 80 percent of vehicle manufacturers in the EU and Japan have switched to LED's for their third brake lights.                                 Everpower Technology (HK) Ltd released recently superbright LED's that emit up to 80 lumens. The company is developing models with increased brightness and higher angle coverage for better brake, turn signal and interior dome illumination.                                                                                                       New models from Lumen Automotive Co. are 10 times brighter than conventional LED's.These products use a superwide lens technique, allowing up to 180-degree illumination. Best sellers come in amber, orange, white or blue and are designed for taillights, side markers, fog lampsand projector headlight assemblies.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  As the use of LED bulbs in interior and exterior vehicle lighting expands, suppliers of the line are developing new models suitable for the latest car makes. Kenzrun LED Application introduces between 80 and 100 new automotive LED bulbs annually. Products meet CE and RoHS requirements.                           A leading supplier in Taiwan, offers models for tail and brake lights, turn signals and backlights for doors and pedal pads.                                                 Over the past 18 months development in new lighting technology for IC's has doubled the service life of vehicle LED bulbs to 30,000 hours.                      Forward LED Lighting Hindrances                                                                                                                                                                         Industry sources identified several  technological issues  barring the extensive adoption of LED bulbs in headlights, foremost of which is brightness. At present, some models are incapable of maching the  brightness levels emitted bytraditional light sources unless these are formed into clusters, Whendoing so, suppliers have to deal with heat dissibation. Headlamp housings have to accommodate numerous LED bulbs in addition to other electrical and mechanical parts in the limited space. As such, DLAA Industrial Co. Ltd is projecting that the linewill onlu be suitable for functional forward illumination by 2009. Bright also expects orders for headlight applicable models to gow significantly after two or three years. At present, te company is capable of p[roducing LED bulbs but not for main beams. Everpower is among the few Hong Kong suppliers actively developing models for headlamps. It is improving light concentration to equal that of halogen or HID bulbs.                

Research & Development in LED's