- EVision Auto demoed its tech earlier this year
- Customized front bumper features a large, wraparound LED display
- Price will range between $2,500 and $3,000, company says
A number of automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers have been toying with ways of making our cars instantly customizable, whether it’s E Ink dashboards or BMW’s madcap iVision Dee concept of 2023 that turned the entire body of a car into a digital canvas.
But EVision Auto believes it can already offer this technology with its front-end display unit that has been designed to fit seamlessly onto the outgoing Tesla Model Y.
The electric display, which is built into a Model Y front bumper and then fitted to the vehicle, features a high-resolution LED panel that can be personalized and customized via a dedicated Android and iOS smartphone app.
Showcased in a corner of the Las Vegas Convention Center at this year’s CES, EVision Auto demonstrated how the display could showcase a series of colorful static artworks, from Manga characters to bright landscapes.
In addition to this, the Model Y’s front end could be made to look like a Bugatti (or Bugiit, Bugtart or Bighaun for legal reasons), don Ferrari’s Prancing Horse logo or even replicate a sort of AI-generated version of a Maserati or Rolls-Royce grille and headlights.
Naturally, there are rather large question marks hanging over the legality of driving around with such a thing slapped on the front of your car – let alone the impending copyright lawsuits – while the durability of the LED unit needs to be second-to-none seeing as it is mounted in such a vulnerable place.
That said, EVision Auto claims the fully customizable grille will cost between $2,500 and $3,000 (around £2,200 / AU$4,400), with installation taking around two hours, according to CarScoops.
The company also says it plans to roll out the technology to other EV brands in the near future.
The future of car customization or flashy vaporware?
Although EVision Auto had a presence at this year’s CES, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the technology will soon be seen on a Tesla near you.
We reached out to the company to ask a number of questions, chiefly surrounding the screen’s legality and how many units the company had sold to date, but we are still awaiting an official response.
Much of the imagery and video on the company’s website is AI-generated, which doesn't bode well. There’s no doubt that the technology exists and the use of exterior displays will be something we see more of in the future – despite it splitting opinions.
Continental, for example, showcased a Window Projection Solution in Las Vegas this year, which beamed imagery from a projector mounted inside the car onto a side windscreen.
Chinese automaker Baojun also has a model with a digital display at the rear that can be customized to look like a watch face or feature emoji-esque graphics, while the HiPhi Z features programmable digital lighting at the front and 1,314 LEDs on the flanks to display messages to the outside world.
China seems to be driving this sort of technological change in the automotive sector and with more brands starting to make headway in Western markets, we might start to see vehicles winking, displaying images of Spider-Man or sending messages to passers-by. Whether you like it or not.
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