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For every Audi enthusiast asking themselves when the advanced lighting systems available in Europe will finally come to America the answer has arrived: later this year.
On Thursday, Audi announced its next-generation adaptive Matrix LED headlights will come to the U.S. on the upcoming Q9 three-row crossover SUV. It will mark the first time the tech is available in the U.S. on an Audi and actually be enabled from the factory. Let me explain.
Some Audi models have had the Matrix LED lighting system on their vehicles, such as the Q8 and others, in the U.S. market. But the functionality on the U.S.-spec cars has been disabled to date. The reason? It wasn’t designed, engineered, and didn’t conform to U.S. headlight regulations. Those regulations were completely outdated, I might add. But in 2021 the regulations were updated. Most automakers didn’t bite as their systems were already designed and either in production or headed into production. Rivian is one of the few automakers offering Matrix lighting in America, and the automaker specifically went out of its way to design its system to conform to U.S. regulations.
Audi
Now, when the Audi Q9 arrives in the U.S. later this year it will be the vehicle that delivers the automaker’s next-gen Matrix LED headlight system to our market.
Dubbed Digital Matrix LED technology, the system will continuously shape the light pattern in real time around objects with the high beams enabled. This means more light output remains on the road without blinding oncoming traffic and reduces glare for other road users. The system will utilize a front-facing camera to detect oncoming vehicles and traffic ahead to then selectively make the light around the objects.
The video embedded above shows a European-spec Q3 and non-U.S.-spec Matrix LED headlights in action at night. Audi didn’t say all the features shown in this video of the Euro-spec Q3 will be coming to the U.S., and it’s unlikely they are. But the adaptive lighting part will be, and that alone is a win worth celebrating.
We’ll have to wait to hear more about the Audi Q9 and its features, but for now, America is finally getting more sets of modern headlights on the road later this year.
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
