Audi and OLEDWorks Celebrate 10 Years of OLED Lighting Innovation

INGOLSTADT, Germany, Oct. 23, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Audi and OLEDWorks marked 10 years of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting in production vehicles at an event 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 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. Audi, with its vision to reimagine vehicle lighting through OLED technology, championed the use of OLED lighting for automotive applications. 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.

OLEDWorks, a global leader in the development and production of automotive qualified OLED technology, has been a key partner in this journey. The company's 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. The facility is IATF 16949 and ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 certified with full traceability via a factory MES system.

Audi, a premium automotive manufacturer operating in more than 100 markets worldwide and managing a global production network comprising 21 sites across 12 countries, has been at the forefront of this innovation. 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. The company has been instrumental in transforming OLED lighting from a beautiful concept into a platform for brand identity, safety communication, personalization, and customer experience.

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.

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. OLED has progressed from static lighting to digital lighting and now to sculptural lighting, representing the next major evolution of automotive lighting.

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. The excitement from customers has never been stronger, and the next decade of OLED lighting growth will be even more remarkable than the first.

For the OLEDWorks team, the 10-year anniversary represents both a celebration and an opportunity. The company is already focused on the future, with the Atala Wave platform at the forefront of innovation. OLED lighting is evolving from a lighting technology into an information and interaction platform, with the potential to redefine the future of automotive lighting.