Talking about vehicle headlights, it is not only about the lighting system but also an attractive design. Not surprisingly, car manufacturers are competing to innovate to enhance this technology with modern designs Call it Audi synonymous with LED and BMW laser lights. However, Mercedes did not remain silent. The company has even worked on developing lighting technology for more than a century. The first Mercedes cars used lanterns with lights like horse-drawn carriages. Mercedes says the lantern provides only a few meters of visibility and driving in the dark is an adventure.

Lighting technology slowly improved after the Mercedes Simplex 1901 used acetylene lanterns which provided slightly more light than traditional candles. A major development occurred in 1910 with the introduction of the battery powered headlight. The driver also no longer needs to get down to turn on and turn off the headlights manually.

Electric lamps were popular in the 1920s and Mercedes has continued to improve them over the years. In 1934 came the dual 500K Bilux lamp which produced high and low beam. After that, lamp technology was relatively stagnant. In 1971, Mercedes introduced the R107 SL which was the first car to use H4 headlights. This doesn’t sound exciting, but the H4 bulb is the first to feature halogen technology for the high and low beams. This increases visibility at night.

Towards the modern era, the 1995 E-Class was introduced with Xenon headlamps. This is a significant improvement over its halogen predecessors because it is more durable, has less energy and produces three times more light. Xenon headlamps make way for LEDs, with the 2010 CLS being the first to feature dynamic LED lights. Three years later, the S-Class became the first vehicle in the world without a light bulb. This car is fully LED.

The use of LED lamps has increased since then, and Mercedes noted each lamp on the 2016 E-Class has 84 LEDs that can be individually controlled, rather than the 24 LEDs used on the CLS two years earlier. The development of light technology continued after Mercedes introduced the EQS. However, the company did not go into any specifics regarding the features of this high-tech lamp. They only mentioned the Vision EQS concept as having a front grille with individual 940 LED digital lights.