10 Years of OLED Lighting in Production Vehicles

A decade of lighting advances in automotive OLED lighting, from homogenous surface illumination to suitable platforms for design, personalization, communication, and safety

INGOLSTADT, Germany, Oct. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Audi and OLEDWorks marked 10 years of organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting in production vehicles at an event hosted by Audi in Ingolstadt on October 15, 2026. The gathering brought together pioneers, engineers, designers, and industry leaders who helped develop OLED from an emerging technology into an established platform for automotive lighting.

The celebration recognizes a decade-long journey that began with Audi's vision to reimagine vehicle lighting through OLED technology. From the industry's first OLED rear lights in production vehicles to today's highly segmented digital OLED rear light systems capable of communication, personalization, and dynamic interaction with the world around the vehicle, OLED lighting has fundamentally expanded the role of light in automotive design.

For OLEDWorks, the milestone represents years of close collaboration with Audi to transform ambitious OLED lighting concepts into automotive-qualified products capable of surviving the demanding conditions of the road.

"More than ten years ago, Audi had a vision of what automotive lighting could become with OLED lighting," said David DeJoy, Chief Executive Officer of OLEDWorks. "Today we celebrate far more than a technology milestone. We celebrate the engineers, designers, manufacturing teams, suppliers, and visionaries who believed that OLED could become an intelligent automotive light engine. Together with Audi, we have transformed the vision from a beautiful concept into a platform for brand identity, safety communication, personalization, and customer experience."

From Vision to Reality

The OLED lighting journey began in the early 2010s when automotive designers started searching for a technology capable of delivering a pure, uniform light surface rather than a conventional point-source appearance.

The Audi lighting team believed in the capabilities of OLED lighting for automotive applications and championed an executable path to deliver the promise of OLED lighting at Audi.

"From the beginning, OLED offered something fundamentally different," said Stephan Berlitz, Head of Development Lighting at AUDI AG. "Designers were no longer constrained by the optics of a light source. For the first time, they could design the light itself. That shift opened entirely new possibilities for expressing brand identity, intelligent function, and creating novel customer experiences."

The first production applications demonstrated OLED's ability to deliver extraordinarily thin, homogeneous lighting surfaces. Those initial systems established the foundation for what would become a decade of continuous innovation.

Digital OLED 2.0: Digitalizing the Light

The next major breakthrough emerged through the collaboration between Audi, OLEDWorks, and Marelli with the introduction of second-generation digital OLED rear lights in the Audi Q6 e-tron.

Recognized with the prestigious Automotive News PACE Award, the technology uses highly segmented OLED panels to enable selectable digital light signatures and communication functions. Warning symbols in defined situations can alert other road users to potential hazards, while customers can personalize the appearance of the rear lighting through multiple available digital light signatures.

"Digital OLED 2.0 represented a turning point for our industry," said Dr. Werner Thomas, Project Manager OLED-lighting, Audi AG. "It allowed us to move beyond illumination and begin using light as a communication medium. We demonstrated that strikingly beautiful lighting could become software-defined, customizable, and capable of conveying information to other road users. That transformation required extraordinary collaboration across Audi, OLEDWorks and many other suppliers and partners."

Today, digital OLED technology enables drivers to select personalized digital light signatures while supporting advanced safety and communication functions, positioning lighting as a central element in future mobility experiences.

The Next Chapter

As the industry celebrates ten years of progress, OLEDWorks is already focused on the future.

"Audi challenges the industry to think differently about lighting," said Wolfgang Goergen, Managing Director, OLEDWorks GmbH. "That challenge inspires an ecosystem of innovators to continue to push digital OLED technology further than anyone thought possible."

Atala Wave, the bendable OLED lighting platform, extends OLED beyond flat surfaces, enabling elegant three-dimensional lighting forms that follow vehicle contours with unprecedented design freedom. The technology opens new possibilities for visibility, communication, vehicle integration, and brand expression.

"Atala Wave is the culmination of years of research, manufacturing innovation, and customer collaboration," said Dr. Soeren Hartmann, Head of Process and Technology Development, OLEDWorks. "OLED has progressed from static lighting to digital lighting and now to sculptural lighting. We believe this represents the next major evolution of automotive lighting."

The Atala Wave allows designers to integrate light directly into the vehicle form with a high degree of freedom.

"Every major advancement required close collaboration between design, engineering, manufacturing, quality, and our customers," said Joerg Knipping, Head of Product Development, OLEDWorks. "What makes this milestone so meaningful is that it reflects the combined efforts of hundreds of people over many years working toward a common goal."

The future of OLED lighting is expected to expand well beyond today's applications. Advances in segmentation, dynamic lighting scenarios, personalization, vehicle communication, and curved architectures are increasingly turning vehicle lighting systems into intelligent communication platforms.

"We are only beginning to understand the potential of what OLED lighting can become," said Dr. Michael Boroson, Chief Technology Officer, OLEDWorks. "The next decade will bring new forms, new functionality, new communication methods, new colors, and entirely new customer experiences. OLED lighting is evolving from a lighting technology into an information and interaction platform."

For the OLEDWorks team, the 10-year anniversary represents both a celebration and an opportunity.

"For anyone who has spent years sharing the promise of OLED with customers, seeing where we are today is incredibly rewarding," said David DeJoy. "Ten years ago, we were talking about possibilities. Today, we are talking about proven vehicles on the road, award-winning technology, and an expanding roadmap of opportunities. The excitement from customers has never been stronger, and I believe the next decade of OLED lighting growth will be even more remarkable than the first."

As Audi and OLEDWorks celebrate ten years of OLED lighting on the road, both organizations are looking forward to advancing the future of automotive lighting through continued innovation, collaboration, and design leadership.

About OLEDWorks 

OLEDWorks is the global leader in the development and production of automotive qualified organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. Its Atala product line offers the brightest, most reliable, and longest lasting automotive OLED lighting on the road today. Meticulously crafted to meet the needs of automotive designers and engineers, Atala enables unparalleled design freedom with ultra-thin, flexible, and highly segmented OLED lighting. 

OLEDWorks’ lighting solutions combine American and German innovation and engineering to meet and exceed automotive industry standards. Founded in 2010, OLEDWorks is headquartered in Rochester, NY, and has a prestigious manufacturing facility in Aachen, Germany. OLEDWorks’ state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is IATF 16949 and ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 certified with full traceability via a factory MES system. 

To learn more about OLEDWorks technology, visit www.oledworks.com. 

To learn more about Atala OLED technology, visit www.atala.oledworks.com. 

About Audi 

With intelligent and electrified products, Audi is driving transformation and playing a decisive role in shaping the future of mobility. 

The premium automotive manufacturer operates in more than 100 markets worldwide and manages a global production network comprising 21 sites across 12 countries. Guided by its promise of “Vorsprung durch Technik” (“Advancement through Technology”), more than 88,000 employees within the Audi Group are working to create the mobility of tomorrow. 

With the values of courage, passion, responsibility, and trust, they are redefining over 100 years of automotive tradition for the future. In 2026, Audi will enter Formula 1 with its own team for the first time, further underscoring its motorsport DNA. 

In addition to the Audi brand, the Audi Group includes the sports car manufacturer Lamborghini, the luxury brand Bentley, and the motorcycle manufacturer Ducati. 

Press Contact

Kathleen Miller
Director of Global Marketing, OLEDWorks
kmiller@oledworks.com
(339) 222-9303