Audi SQ9 – Lighting technology

In the Q9, Audi has equipped the rear lights with third-generation digital OLED panels, setting new standards in lighting technology. The world’s first curved digital OLED panels integrate even more seamlessly into the contours of the body – combining visibility, safety, and design like never before.

The curvature of the digital OLED panel is key to the enhanced safety. The glass substrate is just 0.1 millimeters thick. Thanks to ultra-thin glass technology, the panel follows the contours of the body precisely. This significantly improves visibility – especially from the sides of the vehicle – and enhances road safety. The curved digital OLED rear light delivers strong contrast and uniform light distribution. The outer curved OLED panel is the largest panel ever fitted in an Audi, comprising 99 segments. The center panel has 84 segments, the inner panel 73. A total of 512 segments are distributed across six large digital OLED panels – making the vehicle appear significantly wider at night.

For the first time, the rear lights no longer display their digital light signatures only as static or fully active patterns: new, partially active light signatures in the digital OLED panels create a distinctive lighting design at night.

 

A second lighting highlight in the Q9 are the advanced turn signals, which are available in combination with the digital OLED rear lights and the digital Matrix LED headlights. When turning or changing lanes at night, they project a stylized turn signal onto the ground – in sync with the dynamic turn signals at the front and rear. This is more visible to other road users and significantly increases safety.

 

The communication light in the new Q9 alerts other road users to accidents and breakdowns ahead. It displays a distinctive rear light signature in the digital OLED rear lights with an integrated warning symbol in the form of a hazard triangle. The model also features a connected exit warning: using a dedicated light signature, it alerts cyclists or other vehicles approaching the stationary vehicle from behind to potential collisions when occupants are opening their doors.

 

With an LED module in the door sills, the new projection light projects a solid white rhombus onto the ground beneath the driver’s and front passenger’s doors and a dashed rhombus beneath the rear doors. The rhombus unfurls when the doors are opened, welcoming the passengers and lighting the path to the vehicle. In conjunction with the exit warning, the car projects the rhombus onto the ground next to the door when cyclists or cars approach while a passenger is getting out of the Q9.

 

For optimum forward visibility, the Q9 features digital Matrix LED headlights with a new micro-LED module. This combination delivers outstanding illumination and high-resolution light distribution for the high beams.

Another feature is the projected lane change assist warning, triggered when the driver of the Q9 initiates a lane change while another vehicle is in the blind spot. The orientation light also displays a lane departure warning on highways and non-urban roads – similar to the familiar alert in the instrument cluster – as soon as the driver unintentionally crosses a lane marking. When roads outside built-up areas are potentially icy, the enhanced traffic information system briefly projects an ice crystal symbol onto the road surface as a warning.

The deeper integration of driver assistance into the headlights is also evident in other driving situations. For example, the digital Matrix LED headlights with micro-LED modules improve awareness in construction zones. They automatically adjust the light guidance by switching off the lane light in favor of the orientation light, making it easier to stay in lane. The digital Matrix LED headlights also feature a marking light that helps identify pedestrians. In the dark, it highlights people near the roadway by illuminating them directly.

 

07/2026