HUD installation volume rises in the context of smart electric vehicles, and AR-HUD becomes a trend

In recent years, driven by the wave of intelligent electrification in the automotive industry, HUD (Head Up Display) has ushered in rapid growth. Relevant statistics show that the installation rate of HUD in 2020 was only 4%, and by the end of 2021, this figure reached 6.8%. At the same time, with the cost effect brought about by the large-scale production of HUD, products equipped with this configuration are also penetrating from high-end cars to the mid- and low-end markets. The industry believes that under the background of the continuous advancement of smart cars, HUD is likely to become another rigid configuration in the Chinese automobile market after sunroofs and turbocharging.                               

As the third visual display screen in addition to the central control screen and instrument panel in the car, HUD is extremely important for driving convenience and safety, so the importance of the technology and related industrial chain behind it has also attracted attention in the industry. It is understood that the HUD pre-installation market is basically occupied by Nippon Seiki, Continental, Denso, Visteon, etc. Behind these Tier 1 in-vehicle companies are a group of core players who focus on in-vehicle displays. Among them, Kyocera of Japan, as a parts manufacturer that applied LCD to automobiles earlier, has accumulated many advanced technologies and experiences in the field of HUD dedicated LCD screens.

According to Yuhiro Matsui, director of Kyocera's display business unit, Kyocera began mass production of HUD-specific LCD screens as early as 2015. It currently mainly serves automotive Tier 1 customers such as Denso and Huayang Multimedia, and has a domestic market share of about 60%.

From the perspective of HUD product types, there are currently three main types of HUD products: C-HUD, W-HUD and AR-HUD. Among them, C-HUD has gradually withdrawn from the market, and W-HUD has been widely adopted due to its lower cost and better economy, accounting for as much as 90% of the HUD market. However, with the popularization of ADAS, the degree of intelligence of automotive products is getting higher and higher, which puts forward higher technical requirements for HUD products. AR-HUD is significantly higher in technical content than W-HUD, so it is gradually being introduced into the market.

Yuhiro Matsui, General Manager of Kyocera Display Business Unit

According to Yuhiro Matsui, AR-HUD uses millimeter-wave radar, cameras, infrared sensors and other sensor devices. Therefore, in addition to displaying the navigation, speedometer, vehicle condition alarm and other information required by the previous HUD, it can also display real-time information on road conditions, pedestrians, traffic signals, etc. Therefore, its imaging area is larger, the projection distance is longer, and it is more closely integrated with the real road environment. It also helps to reduce the driver's eye fatigue.

Kyocera 3D-HUD Composition

Taking Kyocera's current 3D-HUD as an example, in terms of projection distance, compared with the current W-HUD which can only display a fixed line of sight distance of 2.5m~13m, Kyocera's 3D-HUD can theoretically display images of any line of sight distance at any position within the surface, so it can display the information needed by the driver more comprehensively.

In addition, through the eye tracking system, Kyocera 3D-HUD can perform distortion correction in real time according to the position of the eyeball. The display position of the virtual image icon is adjusted as the eye position changes, making it easier for the HUD to integrate with the real world.

Because AR-HUD has obvious advantages over W-HUD, it is widely installed on mid-to-high-end models with high intelligence, such as Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi Q4 e-tron, Volkswagen ID series, etc. However, as domestic brands are rapidly moving towards smart electric, the installation rate of AR-HUD on domestic brand products is also increasing. For example, the E-HS9 under FAW Hongqi and the Mocha under Great Wall WEY have already been equipped with AR-HUD as standard; domestic car companies such as Weilai, GAC, Changan, and Chery will also join this ranks.

According to Yuhiro Matsui, the domestic AR-HUD installation rate is expected to reach 3-5% in 2022, and this ratio is expected to increase to 10-15% by 2025.