While sensors and safety tech take the centre when it comes to global automotive conversation, lighting tech often takes the back seat, more so in recent years. However, automotive lighting has moved from being a style element to a core software-defined safety system in today’s world. Technologies like matrix LEDs, adaptive driving beams and sensor-linked modules are no longer talk of the future, rather they are becoming standard vocabulary. At least in markets like Europe and China.
India, however, is still catching up. In a conversation with Motown India, Rajesh Jain, Chairman & Managing Director of Neolite, expressed that India is some years behind Europe and China in advanced lighting systems. While admitting it in a measured way, Rajesh Soni, CEO, Neolite, explains that while the gap exists, it certainly has been narrowing. The company believes that India’s lighting industry today is less about invention, and more about industrialisation.
The Benchmark: Europe’s Precision, China’s Scale
Lighting technology in Europe and Japan has evolved steadily over decades. Advancements like Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) systems, dynamic matrix LEDs and sensor-integrated modules are regulation backed. Meanwhile, China approached the same technology from a different perspective, scale first, ecosystem always.
The advantage with this is not just product capability, but a denser supply chain as well. Electronics manufacturing clusters, specialised component vendors and massive domestic volumes allow China to compress cost without diluting sophistication. India, meanwhile remains an adopter.
Soni candidly expressed that India may very well be five to ten years behind in certain advanced applications. However, the goal is not to eliminate the gap overnight, rather compress it gradually.
Follow. Replicate. Scale.
Neolite management believes that a pragmatic consensus is taking shape across Indian OEM and supplier boardrooms - do not attempt to outmuscle China at its own game, rather replicate and adapt. Jain expressed that the global “China +1” strategy has created an opening for calibrated positioning, especially for countries like India.
Based on this, the Indian lighting suppliers, rather than chasing bleeding-edge architectures, are building alternatives that are engineering-efficient, cost-disciplined and export-ready. He termed this as a sequential recognition where advantage lies and scaling that first. It is no secret that India’s strength lies in competitive engineering costs, growing software integration capability, comfort with global technical communication and steadily strengthening export credentials. Soni iterated that in a market where lighting modules are increasingly software-defined and electronically complex, these attributes matter. China benefits from clustered supply chains and volume-driven electronics bases that compress cost and accelerate innovation. And such density cannot be possessed overnight, he added.
The Hard Question: Can Advanced Lighting Reach the Mass Market?
While India is still catching up to the global lighting trends, one question refuses to go away: how to democratise advanced lighting solutions? While technologies like Adaptive Driving Beam and sensor-integrated systems without a doubt enhance safety, in India price tolerance remains tight. Hence the inclusion of these technologies to the mass and the mass premium segment remain difficult.
Jain explained that the solution to this is to not be disruptive, rather have a disciplined simplification. The idea is to retain the core safety logic while reducing hardware complexity and localise electronics to bring the costs. However, the safety aspect remains critical.
In this regard, Neolite is investing in programmes to create “one-level-down” versions of global technologies. This is aimed to preserve the essential functionality of the technology while aligning with the affordability quotient for the domestic market. Jain added that the real inflection will come regulations, with adoption being higher if advanced lighting technologies are mandated.
Soni iterated that while domestic demand is about being cautious, exports paint a more optimistic picture. He explained the recently announced India–EU trade framework as a structural enabler. He added that while the luminosity of automotive lights has increased a lot, the size has reduced. Higher value density improves logistics economics. Exporting lighting systems now makes more financial sense than it did a decade ago.
Neolite currently exports to about 50 countries, while conversations with other global partners are intensifying, Soni said. For European manufacturers, India offers the engineering balance at scale amidst navigating cost pressures and geopolitical rebalancing.
Despite this, the management is realistic. They believe that trade flow rarely moves in isolation. Europe's tariff relationship with China will also shape sourcing decisions.
From Technology Transfer to Technology Absorption
What is aiding Neolite’s global ambition is its alliance with ZKW Group, which is now owned by the LG Group. The alliance dates back to over two decades. The company believes that while the alliance began as a collaboration, it has now turned into capability building.
With the alliance, Neolite, over the years has gained competencies in LED modules, control electronics, and system integration. The alliance further added the automotive lighting solution provider to add indigenous design talents. The company believes that the shift from being an assembler to integrator has not only helped Neolite, but has also meaningfully changed India’s automotive lighting solution industry, by executing and customising global solutions for domestic needs.
Neolite’s manufacturing footprint spans Bawal, Pune and Chennai. Combined output stands at roughly 2.7 million units, with Bawal alone exceeding 50,000 units in capability. Pune’s Phase 2 expansion will double capacity. Overall production is expected to double by 2027–28.
The message is clear: even if India is not yet defining the future of automotive lighting, it intends to power a significant share of it.
India’s automotive lighting industry is not attempting to out-innovate Europe. It is not seeking to out-scale China. Not yet. Instead, it is building something quieter: engineering competence, export credibility and manufacturing depth. India may still be catching up. But it is no longer standing still.