HELLA Equips New BMW X6 With Light Technology

New production process for the low profile light guide of the LED tail light

LIPPSTADT, Germany--Aug. 28, 2012: HELLA, a leading supplier in automotive lighting and electronics components and systems, has helped provide a facelift for the BMW X6. 

Introduced at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the BMW X6 went on sale in Europe in June. HELLA has LED Tail Lights, Xenon headlights and interior lighting and fog lights on this vehicle. Additional HELLA content includes intelligent battery sensors, rain and light sensors and overhead control units.

The tail light on the new Sports Activity Coupe was redesigned by replacing the horizontal light guide rods from the previous model with low profile light guides.  The new design creates the impression of floating light strips. The change also produces a more distinctive appearance for the vehicle, especially at night, with its light signature.  It follows the contemporary design philosophy that is typical of BMW and has already been implemented on other models such as the 5 Series. The tail lamp's light strips show a predominantly high homogeneity in the rear light function, achieved by a new manufacturing process.

The new process utilizes vibration welding with infrared preheating to attach the low profile light guides directly to the lens. Infrared preheating enables a very clean and uniform welding connection with little or no visibility compared to noticeable welding foam.

The Xenon headlights, interior lighting and fog lights on the new Sports Activity Coupe resemble those of the previous model with the exception of the fog lights, positioned further apart with a matte lacquer border. 

This is the first redesign of the BMW X6 since its launch in 2008.  Since then, the Munich-based automaker has sold 150,000 of these models.  The focal point for the redesign of the Sports Activity Coupe was made with discreet changes in order to maintain the success of the model.