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

  • Need for harmonisation in ITS standards
    February 1, 2012
    As the calendar rolls over, and we hop from continent to continent and World Congress to World Congress, where Memoranda of Understanding and cooperation agreements are the headline news, it is easy for those not intimately involved to forget that standards definition is a well-nigh continual process. Significant progress has been made in recent months towards achieving the critical mass and economies of scale which are going to drive development and deployment in, amongst other things, cooperative infrastr
  • Taking stellar prospective
    December 19, 2013
    Astronauts report that the sensation of seeing the Earth from space is extremely humbling; revealing both the wonder of our world and its fragility with a level of clarity they have never experienced before, or after. From space everything the Astronaut has ever known is but a small green and blue blob that can be masked by the smallest obstruction. And from that distance all the countries in the world are equally far away and their inhabitants cannot be divided into rich or poor, by religion or colour.
  • Telematics PC for in-vehicle digital signage applications
    February 3, 2012
    Nexcom has expanded its range of in-vehicle PCs with the launch of the VTC 6100, an intelligent yet rugged telematics PC which is ideal for in-vehicle digital signage and infotainment applications within buses, trains and taxis.
  • MaaS Market Conferences on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018
    December 20, 2017
    Momentum shift in prospect as authorities accelerate plans to rethink transport provision. TS International’s second, two-day international MaaS Market conference takes place on 20 and 21 February 2018. The Mobility as a Service (MaaS) event is ideal for all organisations exploring new ways of getting people to their destination and new methods for them to pay for transport services.