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2023

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OLED lighting technology is perfect for mid-cycle car facelifts or model upgrades

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Every year car manufacturers introduce model updates, making minor upgrades to paint colours, interiors, or minor technical changes to give the impression of a new model without having to spend a lot of cost and resources redesigning the entire model. However, even with these updates, the average length of time between major revisions, 6-8 years, can feel long to prospective customers. In order to provide more significant updates prior to a major facelift, many automakers make cosmetic improvements to their vehicles every 2-3 years, also known as a "mid-cycle refresh" or "model refresh".

Car Lifecycle
As most car owners know, car manufacturers usually update their models to a certain degree each year, something we call an 'annual facelift'. These updates are usually minor in nature and may include new paint colours, interior updates, new seat materials or minor technical upgrades. Regular updates allow car manufacturers to keep pace with technological advances and consumer preferences, and can result in significant cost savings compared to a major facelift.

Models usually change their design in depth every 6-8 years, which is a complete generation change. Such changes include everything from exterior restyling, lighting technology, interior design, chassis and engines. The time and resources required for a model changeover are enormous.

A "mid-cycle refresh" or "model refresh" is the range between an annual facelift and a complete replacement, usually every 2-3 years, and may include the minor updates seen in an annual facelift, as well as some more substantial updates such as new headlights, new taillight lighting, front grille, and new tail lightings. taillight lighting, front grille updates, etc. The cost of a mid-cycle facelift is higher than an annual update, but significantly lower than the cost required for a full facelift.

OLED technology for vehicle facelifts
OLED lighting has a unique form factor and superior performance, making it ideal for a car retrofit or mid-cycle refresh. With its natural homogeneous luminescence, OLED lighting can be engineered into panel designs using individually controllable zones. These zones can be programmed to display information through branding elements such as symbols, animations or logos.

Replacing a taillight lighting element is relatively inexpensive, yet it can make a vehicle's entire rear end look new, adding value to the driver and making the vehicle's pricing seem reasonable.