Bright Future for Truck and Off-Road Lighting

Highly-competitive and bursting with innovation, the truck and off-road lighting category shows serious growth potential over the next few years. North America’s obsession with burly pickups and SUVs is only one part of the story.

Growing demand for SUVs and pickup trucks continues to dominate the market. SEMA estimates the segment will account for 69% of all new-vehicle sales by 2025, which may not come as much of a surprise to anyone watching manufacturers’ new lineups these days. But an increase in light-truck sales (i.e. pickups, vans, SUVs, and CUVs) does present serious opportunity ($) for the aftermarket.

What might come as a surprise, however, is just how big of a role off-road lighting will play in the sales potential. In fact, a new report from Technavio says, even with adjustments made for COVID, the automotive off-road lighting market is poised to grow by US$ 4.7 billion during 2019-2023.

Growth Factors and Notable Trends

It’s worth noting that pickup trucks are not only the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., but also the largest segment of the specialty-equipment industry. According to 2020 SEMA Market Data, pickup upgrades accounted for 31% of all aftermarket retail sales in 2019. As expected, SUVs and CUVs trailed closely behind, with the Jeep Wrangler offering particularly lucrative aftermarket potential. (Similar accessorizing power is expected from the much-anticipated new Ford Bronco, which hits dealerships in Spring 2021.)

Accessory and appearance upgrades are the most common types of aftermarket installs for light-truck owners, carving out a $24.51 billion slice of market share, notes SEMA—and $2.22 billion of that belongs to lighting upgrades specifically.

Interestingly, it’s not just a preference for bigger and bolder vehicles driving expansion of the off-road lighting market.

Powersports

Springtime quarantine orders forced people to get creative with their leisure time, and a lot of folks turned to Mother Nature for a solution. Interest in outdoor recreation and adventure sports soared—as did the demand for ATVs, side-by-sides, and motorcycles.

“Our broad array of best-in-class products provided an attractive social-distancing solution for both existing, and encouragingly, a wide range of new Powersports customers,” wrote Polaris CEO Scott Wine in July. Despite COVID-related production hiccups, Polaris saw a 57% increase in North American retail sales for the second quarter compared to last year. Pictured: Polaris Sportsman 570 Limited. Source: Polaris

Trail obstacles can spell disaster for full-size, off-road vehicles. As such, SEMA research shows about 82% of UTV owners take an interest in upgrading and accessorizing their vehicles with mods focused on enhancing overall functionality and versatility.

The aftermarket offers a variety of ATV/UTV lighting kits, including fog lights, windshield-mounting light bars, and recessed bumper kits (in every budget bracket, too).

Handy, forward-facing illumination from brands like PIAA can be the difference between fun night-riding and a trip to the ER. Those looking to amplify factory lighting with LED light bars, auxiliary lights, headlight replacements, and whip lights can turn to renowned brands like VisionX, KC HiLites, and Rigid Industries. High-dollar, high-performance upgrades are available as well, like the laser light kits from Baja Designs.

Enthusiasts seeking aggressively-designed auxiliary lighting engineered for maximum distance projection at high speeds should check out Twisted Pro. (Pictured is the company’s Pro Pod COLOR.) Specializing in off-road applications, Twisted Pro is also a US-veteran company, so products are tested by individuals who understand the meaning of “harsh conditions.”

Overlanding

Another trend influencing the aftermarket and, by extension, the truck and off-road lighting segment, is a growing interest in overlanding. Whether enthusiasts are seeking months-long adventure travel experiences or merely a weekend excursion, they’ll be searching for lightweight, high-performance products to light both the journey and the campsite.

Aftermarket manufacturers are responding with powerful lighting upgrades that sport sturdy, high-grade housings and ingress protection (IP) ratings to withstand sustained, environmental hazards.

Consider a brand like X-Ray Vision. Built to withstand the extreme conditions of the Australian Outback, the company’s high-quality light bars and off-road driving lights use die-cast alloys, stainless steel, and a virtually unbreakable polycarbonate to ensure product longevity. In addition to durability, Xray Vision offers exclusive Quad-Optic LED Multiplexer Projection Technology.

Basically, four individual optical components gather and project light from high-powered LEDs, rather than scattering that light from a single shallow reflector. This translates to seeing farther and clearer, even in the most rugged terrain. So, while they look like a traditional lightbar, they actually offer better visibility, a sleeker design, and a lower profile.

Learn more about Xray Vision in the video below.

Thanks to the growing overlanding trend, consumers can also find a growing number of compact, modular units that easily integrate into existing cargo management or protection accessories.

For example, Baja Designs’ LP9 Pro Off-Road LED lights mount easily to a replacement bumper, creating an off-road light setup that cranks out an incredible 200° spread of usable light for both near-field and distance visibility. LP9s are available in both standard and Racer Edition configurations, depending on how wild your off-grid adventures get.

Even better, both models feature Baja’s uService technology, which allows customers to change the lens pattern and color depending on driving conditions, or simply when they want to refresh the lens. That kind of adaptability is a huge asset to serious overlanders and/or off-roaders.

Target Audience

SEMA research shows that most accessorizers who opt for lighting upgrades tend to skew young—specifically in the 16-29 age range, with Elder Millennial and Gen-X vehicle owners not too far behind. Additionally, data shows roughly 72% of consumers choose to perform lighting upgrades on their own. As such, the overall direction of the lighting segment generally caters to a younger aesthetic and budget.

Thanks to continual technological and engineering advancements, manufacturers can pack some serious illuminating power into small, convenient packages with true plug-and-play installation—ideal for DIYers on the move. Similarly, modular constructions give consumers the ability to create truly customizable lighting setups. So, if an off-roader gets his kicks blasting sand dunes at night or slowly crawling rocks at dusk, he can rest assured the aftermarket lighting is specifically tailored to his needs.

Vehicle accessories with integrated LEDs are also rising in popularity.

“We make products that utilize LED lights,” says Junior Calvert of Westin Automotive. “We need LED lights to enhance our products. So, [by manufacturing them ourselves] we can offer a complete quality package with cost savings for our customers. For us, we do lighting to complement our current product offerings, and we happen to do it well.”

Read more about Westin’s foray into lighting HERE.

Ramping up the personalization-factor are also new dynamic features, like colored underbody and engine bay lighting. These types of upgrades allow owners to highlight their carefully-chosen aftermarket mods, taking show-truck styling to a new level. Plus, many kits offer color-shifting technology too, so users can sync a lighting pattern to a favorite playlist or to an interior ambient setup.

Such trends were front and center at SEMA 2019.

For example, ORACLE Lighting debuted its Dynamic ColorSHIFT LED illuminated wheel rings, which allow users to run over 200 color patterns via a smartphone app, customizing a large ring of light to accent their wheels. The brand also offers ColorSHIFT-engineered DRLs, headlights, grille vent accent lights and more, allowing users to dial in how mild or wild they want their vehicle to look come nighttime.

Similarly, Rigid Industries debuted its new 360-series fog lights. Available in either a 4-inch or 6-inch round LED, they integrate one of four backlight colors and a variety of beam patterns—including one that’s 100% SAE-compliant. Designed to provide a customized experience and look, they’re easy-to-install and accommodate a wide range of mounting options.

And, not to be outdone, Quake LED introduced its new Light Bridge Series, which offers near endless lighting combinations. Owners can mount a light bar with cubes on either side to better illuminate the trail or slap on the side perches and install an incredible seventeen cube lights on a 52-inch bar. Those who want to get a little crazy can add in RGB accent lights for turn signal and/or courtesy light functionality.

Read more about SEMA 2019 Lighting Trends HERE.

Potential Challenges

Despite the growth potential in the truck and off-road lighting category, the segment still faces its fair share of challenges. Technavio notes in its market research report that automotive lighting is highly “fragmented,” with many players jockeying for market share. While that kind of competition translates to continual innovation and some great pricing incentives, it also serves as catnip for opportunistic knock-off brands.

Cracking down on counterfeiters is difficult and expensive, but many manufacturers are taking action. In addition to educating consumers on how to spot a fake, several companies allow shoppers to report knock-off products right on their website. Others, like ORACLE, are defending their intellectual property rights in court.

Technavio reports other obstacles that may hamper the growth of the automotive off-road lighting industry include: “high power consumption adversely affecting battery performance of vehicles, legal limitations on the use of off-road vehicles, and regulations restricting the use of off-road lights.”

On the bright side, battery technology continues to advance, especially as electric vehicles elbow their way into the mainstream. And while government regulations will always prove challenging, there are many off-road vehicle associations working hard to protect public lands for multiple-use recreation.

As far as any economic hurdles go, SEMA is confident the aftermarket will rebound. “This may have been the deepest, quickest recession in history, but our industry is nimble, built on innovation and ready for the challenge,” says the organization.