LG Innotek, a LG Group company focussing on automotive radar and lighting solutions among others, has been awarded the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovation Award, for its vehicle lighting technology.

On 21 November 2024, LG Innotek announced that its 'Nexlide A+ automotive lighting module' received the CES 2025 Innovation Award from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in the United States.

The CTA recognises products and services of exhibitors that stand out for their technology, aesthetics, and innovation.

The 'Nexlide A+' is a product in LG Innotek's Nexlide series, a brand focussing on automotive lighting solutions. It is said to be the first lighting module in the industry to apply a surface light source to the front lighting module of a vehicle.

LG Innotek said that unlike typical point light sources, a surface light source emits light evenly across the entire surface. It has secured more than 700 patents related to the technology.

For a vehicle lighting module using a conventional point light source to achieve a similar effect to a surface light source, a separate component is required to spread the light from the point light source evenly, such as a light guide. In addition, the air gap, which is a layer of air required for light diffusion, needs to be thicker.

The front lighting module, due to being located at the front of the vehicle, is exposed to high temperatures and needs to be equipped with a heat dissipation structure to remove heat. This makes existing point light source products bulky, which limits design flexibility.

In comparison, the 'Nexlide A+' uses LG Innotek's unique surface light source technology to produce uniform brightness without such additional components, which also makes the module 40 percent slimmer than the existing product. This allows for efficient space utilisation and greater flexibility in vehicle design.

In addition, the company has further improved heat dissipation performance by applying high heat-resistant resin coating and film technology. The brightness has also been increased fivefold compared to conventional rear-facing lighting products, meeting the global legal standard of 500cd (candela, a unit representing the brightness of a light source) for daytime running lights (DRLs).

Till date, the company has completed more than 140 projects with domestic and foreign automotive brands and accumulated more than 150 orders. Over the past 10 years, it has recorded an average annual sales growth rate of 47 percent.

Looking ahead, LG Innotek plans to expand its lineup of rear-lighting modules to include front-lighting models. By 2025, the company also aims to develop ‘pixel lighting’ technology, which features small, three-dimensional lights arranged in a grid-like pattern. This advancement it expects to facilitate communication between vehicles(V2V) and pedestrians(V2P) enhancing safety and interaction.

Moon Hyuksoo, CEO, LG Innotek, said, "LG Innotek is solidifying its position in the global market as a total solution provider of future mobility components. With innovative products, we will grow the automotive lighting module business into a trillion-dollar industry by 2030, delivering unique value to our customers."

In January, LG Innotek will present a range of differentiated products at CES 2025, including the 'Nexlide A+' and other vehicle lighting modules as well as LiDAR (Light Detection Ranging) and sensing components for autonomous driving applications.

In a landmark initiative to bolster road safety awareness among schoolchildren, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), in partnership with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), officially launched the SIAM-KVS Road Safety Online Education Programme. The launch took place at Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2, New Delhi, in the presence of Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education, under the guidance of the Ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Education.

The event also witnessed the participation of Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Education; Prachi Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education; Nidhi Pandey, Commissioner, KVS; Vinod Aggarwal, Immediate Past President, SIAM & MD and CEO, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV); Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM and Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM.

The initiative, established under an MoU signed on 2 August 2023, aims to inculcate responsible road behaviour among students across 1,253 Kendriya Vidyalayas. As part of SIAM’s ‘सुरक्षित सफर (Safe Journey)’ mission and aligned with its goal of ‘Building the Nation, Responsibly’, the programme features six digital modules tailored for different school levels – covering pedestrian safety, helmet & seatbelt use, traffic rules, legal aspects and more.

Prashant K Banerjee, remarked, “We, at SIAM, are eager to join hands with all teachers and students to restore the glorious identity of India. Through this initiative, powered by the collective efforts of SIAM, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and our engaging mascot ‘Safe I Am – People Call Me SIAM’, we aim to instil responsible road behaviour in young minds.”

Nitin Jairam Gadkari, addressing students, said, “The government has introduced several new rules, like mandatory rear seat belts and these habits should be taught early in childhood. It’s important that these lessons start in schools. We want to build a socially sensitive, aware generation and for this, we need every student to participate in spreading awareness and responsibility.”

Dharmendra Pradhan, added, “Road safety cannot be treated as optional. Our 30 crore students are the key to shaping a road-safe nation. I urge SIAM and KVS to create audio-visual tools and make Kendriya Vidyalayas model schools for road safety.”

Sanjay Kumar, highlighted, “It is important to develop a strong mindset about road safety. SIAM’s curriculum of six modules will help create awareness among more than 15 lakh students. Our aim is to take this to every school across India.”

Vinod Aggarwal, emphasised, “This initiative is about empowerment. It marks the beginning of a long-term national movement that starts in classrooms and reaches every citizen.”

A successful pilot run at Kendriya Vidyalaya, R.K. Puram, in October 2024, laid the groundwork for a dedicated web-based Learning Management System, ensuring easy integration of road safety lessons into school curriculums.

The first day of May 2025 is set to become a landmark in the history of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as the Fastag Authentication System (FASTag) ends.

The FASTag electronic toll collection system in India, which uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, was introduced to enable seamless toll payments without stopping at toll plazas. This is set to be replaced with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that will collect toll through a device, possibly fitted in the vehicle number plate. This system will calculate tolls through GPS and GPS-aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) as per the actual distance travelled.

This will eliminate the need to pay tolls for the entire highway if one is getting off earlier. With its introduction, toll transactions are expected to see a reduction in technical glitches, helping clear long queues faster. The government of India has received feedback for a more efficient upgrade to FAStag, the bank-based digital wallet system that has been in use since 2016.

So far, users crossing a single toll plaza multiple times a month are issued monthly passes worth INR 340, which means INR 4,080 a year. On the other hand, a yearly pass for INR 3,000 is being proposed for the whole year, allowing unlimited travel across various national highways of India. As per Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), GNSS with annual and lifetime passes for private cars is the solution to decongest Indian highways.

Though originally slated for 1 April, the launch of the new toll collection system has now been scheduled for 1 May. As per media reports, a better network of India’s satellites are being activated for it. GNSS will be in operation alongside FAStag during the initial stages, with select lanes receiving technology for the new system.

The trials with the new technology are already underway on Panipat-Hisar and Bengaluru-Mysore national highways.    

Mumbai-headquartered automotive major Tata Motors has attained a new milestone of filing 250 patents and 148 design applications in FY2025, which is also its highest ever in a year.  

The automaker has filed the patents across a multitude of disciplines such as connectivity, electrification, sustainability and safety (CESS), as well as alternative energy mix such as hydrogen-based vehicles and fuel cells.

Furthermore, vehicle systems, including battery, powertrain, body and trim, suspension, brakes, HVAC and emission control, were also part of the patents filed by the automaker.

Interestingly, in FY2025, Tata Motors filed 81 copyright applications and secured 68 patent grants during the year, which translates to 918 patents granted to date.

What’s more, Tata Motors also received five accolades and honours in FY2025, being recognised for its excellence in intellectual property rights (IPR).

Rajendra Petkar, President and Chief Technology Officer, Tata Motors, said, “Our innovation strategy is focused on delivering sustained value to customers while staying ahead of the industry shifts. This milestone reflects our continued pursuit of automotive excellence and reinforces our long-term vision of manufacturing greener, safer and more efficient vehicles. With a growing portfolio of pioneering technologies, we remain committed to supporting nation-building through cutting-edge solutions. Looking ahead, our efforts remain rooted in shaping the future of mobility, serving the evolving aspirations of our customers and communities alike.”

Japanese auto major Nissan has announced that it will launch its next-generation ProPILOT technology from the fiscal year 2027. The system, featuring Nissan Ground Truth Perception technology with next-generation LiDAR and Wayve AI driver software, will enable its vehicles to have advanced autonomous driving with collision avoidance capabilities.

Built on Wayve’s embodied AI foundation model, the technology is claimed to be designed to handle highly complex real-world driving conditions in a human-like manner.

Wayve is a global AI company has trained its foundation model on vast amounts of real-world experience using custom GenAI technology that enables point-to-point driving across urban and highway environments.