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.

Related Content

  • May 30, 2012
    Four predictions for the automotive and transportation industry
    Frost & Sullivan has released the results from its customer survey with several hundred companies conducted in December 2011, executed to find out the top predictions for 2012 for the global automotive and transportation market. Market growth in all regions except Europe, accelerated introduction of plug in hybrid and battery electric vehicles due to increasing fuel prices, mobility and integrated transportation as well as the integration of the smart phone with dedicated application stores and innovative H
  • July 8, 2016
    Plug-in EV sales expected to grow by 62 per cent in US in 2016
    A new report from Navigant Research assesses plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales and populations in the United States and Canada, providing detailed geographic breakdowns of PEV sales and scenario-based forecasts. During the next few years, significant growth is expected in the North American PEV market. In 2016, growth will be driven by sales of the Tesla Model X, the second-generation Volt, and by the introductions of the Chevrolet Bolt 200-mile range battery electric vehicle (BEV), the Prius Prime pl
  • August 24, 2012
    Peer-to-Peer carsharing in Europe projected to grow significantly
    According to Frost & Sullivan, by 2020 more than 200 traditional carsharing organisations (CSOs) and another 24 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) CSOs are expected to take the European market for carsharing to new heights. More than 14 million new members are expected to use carsharing services in Europe by the same year, while three new sub-segments will emerge in the market: electric vehicle carsharing, corporate carsharing and one-way carsharing. While the new segments arise in particular due to continued urbanisation
  • March 26, 2021
    TomTom offers hybrid navigation solution 
    Drivers can interact with TomTom’s navigation via Amazon Alexa