In a lighting R&D team at an automaker, lamp controls and telltales are a big part of the job. Even if most of the team does not work on displays, buttons, switches, they need to write the specification (always), the software code (sometimes), and a new regulation or safety requirement can really rock the boat. New rules can necessitate redesigned controls (up to a complete redesign of the cockpit), and reconfiguration of the BCM or even the core computer in a software-defined vehicle.
So it’s crucial to anticipate what is coming, and to make updatable EE platforms. Some years ago, it was often called “agility”.
Such new requirements now come in the form of Euro NCAP’s 2026 protocol, and the update to China’s GB 4094 (counterpart to UN R121), which regulates the controls and displays for lighting. We’re watching for these new regs and ranking protocols to visible alter vehicle designs. For example, it’ll be minus NCAP points for rear fog lamp activation relegated to the central stack display; plus NCAP points if it’s done with a physical button. The hazard warning lamp control will subtract points if it is in the overhead console.
In China, all headlamp on-off, high/low beam, and auto/manual lighting controls might be moved back to physical controls. This is an idea under discussion, which could become a legal requirement soon – like the doorhandle requirements, which requires automakers to totally change designs despite some of them being quite new.
This week I bring you a deep dive into this new Euro NCAP protocol, and take a fresh look at the controls and displays I saw at the Paris 2024 motor show, to see how they meet (or don’t meet) the new requirements. Take time to read it, or skip it if you think it is boring (which, yes, it kind of is!). New regulations and rating system evolutions aren’t exactly shocking headlines or riveting reading. But as I am a former legal expert, I should do it.
We also present two new turn signal stalk designs, one of which costs does less than the other and yet costs extra money. Interesting times we live in!
Take care,
