The Indian automotive lighting market has a new long-term focused player ready to challenge the existing brands. DH Lighting Co. of Korea has launched its flagship ‘Excelite’ brand of automotive halogen bulbs in the Indian market. Since inception in 1993, the company has proved a front-runner in the Korean auto lighting market, with its success built on a spirit of trust, technology and futuristic approach. It has set its sights on the huge potential for its products in India and is scripting a long-term gameplan for the market.
DH Lighting officially launched the Excelite brand in India at a standalone event in New Delhi during Auto Expo. The event saw the DH Lighting India management team and its newly-appointed channel partners share their thoughts on the company and its plans for India, with the first wave of products being unveiled.
Talking to MOTORINDIA on the significance of the Indian market for his company, Mr. Hee Chul Chae, President, DH Lighting Co. Ltd., said: “India is a huge market for all types of vehicles – two-wheelers, passenger cars and commercial vehicles – with every segment focusing on both price and quality. We would like to demonstrate that our bulbs have better quality at reasonable cost than any brands in the Indian market. With further advancement in technology, there is no longer one famous brand in any market, and we feel this is the perfect time to bring our Excelite brand to India. We will target the aftermarket for the first two years and are seriously considering commencement of local manufacturing to supply to OEM customers here.”
The Excelite brand is sold in over 30 countries worldwide, including to all major automobile OEMs in Korea.
The company plans to take the time-tested route of starting by appointing aftermarket distributors before approaching OEM customers. “We shall first start with appointing distributors in all key areas in the country, and, within one year, we want to have a good distribution system across the country. We want to promote our products and brand in the market, and given the remarkable population of India, it will become a very important market for cars and auto parts”, Mr. Chae added.
An expert in halogen lamps, DH Lighting also has HID and LED lamps in its product portfolio and plans to bring them to the Indian market in future. Referring to DH Lighting’s Auto Expo debut this year, he said: “This is the first time we are participating in Auto Expo and are focusing on introducing our brand to the Indian market. We have showcased our LED lamps which are an alternative to halogen bulbs and are planning to bring these products also to India.”
Proven technology
With customers demanding better product quality, longer life and more advanced technology, auto makers are relying on component suppliers to come up with new and innovative products and solutions to cater to such requirements. DH Lighting contributes much to meet customer needs across different vehicle segments with its cutting-edge technology.
“In Korea, we produce bulbs for around 4.2 million vehicles, mostly passenger cars and commercial vehicles, every year. We also supply halogen bulbs to brands like John Deere and Caterpillar in the off-highway segment”, Mr. Chae explained.
DH Lighting’s technology capability has been acknowledged as one of the best in the automotive lighting industry, as testified to by the E-mark certificate from Europe and approvals from the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the US, Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) in Taiwan and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) in India for all its standard products. The company also has ISO/TS16949, ISO14001 certification for quality and environment management systems.
