DVN Detroit Lighting Workshop – September 9-10, 2025

The 36th DVN Workshop will take place on 9 – 10 September, 2025 in Livonia, Michigan at the Laurel Manor.The theme for the conference and expo is Lighting Innovation to Elevate Safety and Style.

Lighting is, foremost, a safety system — for the driver’s own use, of course, and also increasingly for ADAS sensors and cameras. Lighting systems and strategies for optimal safety are evolving by leaps and bounds, and on the evening before the event opens, 8 September, attendees will be able to try out the first ADB system on offer in the USA, as part of a pre-event festival including barbecues and food trucks.

And yet, lighting is about more than just safety; it’s also about style. Lighting has become a key differentiator for automaker stylists; increasingly it’s a central element of brand DNA. That’s of particular importance in North America, with regulations and technical standards which permit wider design possibilities versus Europe and China.
Interior lighting, too, is evolving very fast, pushed by new autonomous driving features and new use cases, notably in China. The interior lighting session was a real success at the DVN Workshop in Japan shortly ago, so there’s an interior lighting session on the docket for Livonia — a welcome new addition to the well-proved resources and opportunities US DVN Workshops have been providing to attendees, speakers, and exhibitors for sixteen years now.

Regulatory sessions have been among the most popular ones at US DVN Workshops, and we’re lining up a great one this time — a forum to discuss hot topics like headlight glare, and support GTB and SAE initiatives to develop global technical requirements and overcome regulatory barriers. Panel discussions and expo booths will facilitate productive exchanges of information and ideas.
And this year, we’re inviting a thoughtful selection of OEM designers to join the exhibition and show their latest ideas and innovations.
We are confident this Workshop will be yet another in an unbroken chain of best-of-its-kind events, made even more relevant and beneficial by the challenges facing our automotive industry right now around the world. In turbulent and uncertain times, there is especially great value in talking and listening and learning with one another, making new contacts and reinforcing existing ones, and forming and strengthening partnerships. This is what DVN Workshops are designed for. It’s what we do best. Come join us, won’t you?

Paul-Henri Matha, Daniel Stern & Felipe Melhado