The vehicle lighting market has grown greatly in complexity and range in recent years, while customer expectations have also risen. Local parts suppliers now carry over 500 different types of bulbs, featuring halogen, Xenon and LED.

 
The trend appears to be for the motorist to demand OE quality lighting that puts more light on the road, something that the Philips Automotive Lighting Programme delivers.

Xenon lighting and Day Time Running lights are major areas of opportunity for Irish garages this winter, with Xenon bulbs in particular needing to be changed by a professional.

The new generation Philips RacingVision GT200 also represents a major up-sell opportunity. This is up to 200% brighter than the industry standard, making it the most powerful road-legal halogen bulb yet produced. Philips says that the RacingVision GT200 delivers the super-bright visibility of a rally bulb in a format that can be used on public roads. As such the new bulb’s performance makes driving even safer than its predecessor, giving an additional safety distance of up to 80 meters with the area of the road it illuminates on dipped beam.

RacingVision GT200 also boasts excellent lifetime for a bulb with such performance. Users can expect as much as 250 hours for the H7 variant, rising to up to 400 hours for the RacingVision GT200 H4. These advances are made possible thanks to a high luminance filament and a new coating on the glass. The Racing Vision GT200 also features new Diamond Precision Quartz glass and increased pressure and shock resistance properties.

Philips distributor J&S Automotive is also assisting parts suppliers and garages with useful point of sale tools. The Philips bulb range can be seen in its entirety on Philips Bulb Directory Counter Mats and in the “Find your Lamp” Catalogue which are both available from local parts suppliers. Philips have also brought out a very cost effect garage and counter display highlighting the effectiveness of its LED range, which is fast growing in demand.