Skip to main content

The trend in digital instrument displays

Innovative instrument clusters and head-up displays are becoming increasingly popular amongst OEMs and customers alike, according to IMS Research’s new automotive study, “The World Market for Automotive OEM Electronic Systems – 2011 Edition.”
March 23, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Innovative instrument clusters and head-up displays are becoming increasingly popular amongst OEMs and customers alike, according to 591 IMS Research’s new automotive study, “The World Market for Automotive OEM Electronic Systems – 2011 Edition.”

By 2018, it is forecast that almost seven million cars will have purely digital instrument clusters and over 3.5 million cars will have a head-up display, with combined revenues reaching US$2.5 billion. Although purely digital instrument clusters are becoming more popular, hybrid instrument clusters currently make up 90% of the market.

“OEMs are slowly moving towards purely digital instrument clusters for a few reasons” explains IMS Research automotive market analyst, Ben Scott. “With most OEMs releasing an HEV/EV in the near future, a reconfigurable digital instrument is very appealing. Information on battery charge, distance until next charge, and other driver information can easily be displayed.”

Another driving force is consumer trends. Smartphone and tablet PC ownership is increasing and there is the opportunity to integrate these devices to drive configurable instrument clusters. In a recent IMS Research consumer survey, ‘Connected Head Units – Consumer Survey – 2011 Edition’, it was found that the majority of respondents would prefer to use their smartphone as the HMI for infotainment.  However, for both instrumentation and infotainment there will be definite safety implications involved and serious consideration should be given as to how these devices will display information.

Head-up displays (HUDs) have, for a long time, been associated with the premium end of the car market, but this could change. “We should see HUDs penetrating the middle car segment market in the near future”, Scott adds. HUDs are becoming less expensive, partly because of new head-up display technology entering the market from companies like 4276 Nippon Seiki and 764 Johnson Controls.

Johnson Contols is offering a ‘combiner head-up display’ which projects information on to a fully integrated transparent screen in the driver’s field of vision. “This approach to the HUD is both cost effective and will help bring this technology to the volume car segments,” said Scott.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Nearly half of vehicles produced annually by 2017 will have fleet management systems
    March 22, 2012
    Vehicle OEMs have traditionally focused on their core competency of vehicle usage and vehicle analysis, rather than transport operation. This has placed them at a disadvantage to independent aftermarket telematics vendors, whose core competence is in transport operation. OEMs have typically limited client contact after selling the vehicle. But this is expected to change once OEMs gradually start offering fleet management systems (FMS) as a standard in their models.
  • Chinese city improves traffic flow with ISS
    June 13, 2014
    Image Sensing Systems’ (ISS) Hong Kong based subsidiary has supplied and installed 360 units of Autoscope video detection equipment for integration with traffic signal controllers in the large Chinese city of Jining, a coal mining area in the southern part of Shandong province. The city has a population of over eight million people and the rapid economic growth and explosive increase of individual vehicle ownership have lead to significant problems with traffic congestion. Local company Anhui Keli suppli
  • Embracing the wider connected car environment key to fulfilling the ITS vision
    August 3, 2012
    According to a new report from ABI Research, after more than a decade of trials and tests, the ITS industry finds itself facing important decisions regarding mandating dedicated DRSC-based technology and ensuring seamless integration with existing converged technologies, using them as a proxy to bridge the time, penetration, and cost gap of ITS infrastructure which is not expected to reach critical mass before the end of this decade.
  • ADAS ‘fastest growing sector’ in automotive field
    July 7, 2015
    According to the latest research by RnR Market Research, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in automotive field and is expected to register a CAGR of 32 per cent during 2014-2019. Currently, developed countries in Europe and America have had nearly eight per cent of new vehicles equipped with ADAS, in contrast to about two per cent in emerging markets. It is predicted that over 25 per cent of new vehicles will carry ADAS by 2019 globally. The Global a