Chinese EV maker Nio pre-launched on Thursday its new flagship model, the three row SUV ES9.
The company announced what it described as the automotive industry’s first headlight system that projects the vehicle’s planned driving path onto the road surface.
Announced by Nio‘s founder and CEO William Li during Thursday’s pre-launch event, the feature synchronises pixel-level lighting with its advanced driver assistance system’s lane-level navigation data in real time.
The system, called HDPL (High-Definition Projective Lighting), debuted on the ES9 — Nio‘s largest electric SUV and the biggest pure electric SUV in China — ahead of the model’s public premiere at the Beijing Auto Show later this month.
How It Works
The ES9’s headlights use five high-performance independent optical modules coordinated through what Nio calls “intelligent collaborative lighting.”
The system is powered by the image signal processor in the company’s in-house ShenJi NX9031 chip and integrated with its AQUILA super-sensing suite, which includes roof-mounted LiDAR, wide-angle fender LiDAR sensors, 4D imaging radar, and multiple camera arrays.
The HDPL system can isolate lighting zones as small as 25 centimetres from 100 metres away — pixel-level precision that allows it to selectively illuminate specific objects, highlight lane markings, or dim around oncoming traffic and pedestrians to eliminate glare.
High beams reach up to 600 metres — an increase from the 500-metre range on Nio‘s ET9 sedan, which uses similar technology based on ams-OSRAM’s EVIYOS HD 25 pixel LED modules.
The Light Carpet
The standout feature is what Nio calls a “Full-Scene Intelligent Light Carpet” — a wide-beam ground projection system the company claims is an industry first in two respects.
The light carpet covers a 23-metre-wide illumination field at a brightness of 90,000 nits, which Nio described as the widest and brightest in the industry respectively.
At that width, the premium brand said that the projection spans approximately six standard traffic lanes.
The second is the “S-shaped navigation light carpet,” which Nio said is the industry’s only headlight system that projects the vehicle’s upcoming driving path — including curves — onto the road ahead.
The system integrates with the ADAS decision-making layer and uses what Nio described as a “spatial projection-fitting algorithm” to project lane-level navigation data as a visible light pattern on the road surface.
In practice, this means the headlights bend their illumination pattern in advance of curves, projecting the planned trajectory rather than a static beam.
The system draws on the same sensor fusion and navigation data that powers Nio‘s assisted driving functions, creating a direct link between the vehicle’s perception of the road and its illumination of it.
What the Light Carpet Does
Nio‘s ES9 page describes four distinct modes for the light carpet system, all running on what the company calls a “self-developed controller and lighting algorithm.”
The first is lane-line following: the projection traces road markings onto the surface ahead, reinforcing the driver’s perception of lane geometry in low-visibility conditions.
The second is curve tracking, where the illumination bends in advance of turns — the S-shaped navigation projection shown at the launch event.
The third and fourth modes are active safety functions.
Nio describes a “tracking light warning” that highlights pedestrians and two-wheeled vehicles — bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles — with a directed light projection as they enter the vehicle’s path.
The company also lists a lane-change prompt that projects directional S-shaped light patterns during lane transitions.
Nio‘s product description frames the system as “laser-guided lighting” that uses its “cross-domain fused perception system” — meaning the AQUILA sensor suite’s LiDAR, radar, and camera data — to direct the headlights.
“Using the eye of technology to perceive the full picture,” the company wrote. “Anti-glare light control, intelligent without disturbing; tracking light warnings, protecting all around.”
The combination of pedestrian tracking and curve projection represents a step beyond what current pixel LED headlights from European manufacturers offer.
BMW‘s Crystal Light and Mercedes‘ Digital Light systems can selectively dim around oncoming traffic and project symbols onto the road, but neither integrates forward-looking ADAS navigation data to pre-illuminate the driving path or actively tracks vulnerable road users with directed light.
Safety Implications
By linking the headlight projection to the ADAS layer’s forward-looking navigation model, the ES9 can illuminate the road geometry ahead of the driver’s steering input — potentially giving earlier visibility of obstacles, pedestrians, or road features in curves and intersections.
The pedestrian and cyclist tracking function adds a second layer.
Rather than relying solely on the driver’s attention to identify vulnerable road users at night, the headlight system itself highlights them with a directed light projection — creating a visual alert that works even if the driver has not yet noticed the hazard.
Nio described it on its product page as “tracking light warnings, protecting all around.”
The HDPL system also supports fully anti-glare intelligent high-beam control, using the AQUILA sensor suite to detect oncoming vehicles and selectively dim individual pixel zones around them while maintaining maximum illumination everywhere else.
Nio said coverage extends to six lanes of traffic simultaneously. The company described the approach as “anti-glare light control, intelligent without disturbing.”
At medium and low speeds — where high beams cannot be used — the system increases low-beam ground brightness and extends effective illumination distance, addressing what lighting engineers have long identified as the weakest link in urban nighttime driving: the gap between high-beam reach and low-beam limits.
The ES9 page states the system is “built for high-precision lighting — with bright light, wide coverage, far reach, and precise focus — to enhance lighting safety.”
The ET9 Connection
The SUV’s HDPL system builds on the technology first introduced in the Nio ET9 flagship sedan, which began deliveries earlier this year. The ET9 uses ams-OSRAM’s EVIYOS HD 25 pixel LED modules — containing 25,600 individually addressable micro-LED chips — and achieved a 500-metre high-beam range with 25-centimetre zoning at 100 metres.
The ES9 extends the high-beam reach to 600 metres and adds the navigation-linked S-shaped projection capability, which was not present on the ET9 at launch.
The ES9
The ES9 measures 5,365 mm in length, 2,029 mm in width, and 1,870 mm in height, with a 3,250 mm wheelbase — making it larger than the Rolls-Royce Cullinan by length.
It uses a 2+2+2 six-seat layout with zero-gravity second-row seats, electrochromic privacy glass, and a 15.6-inch AMOLED central display running Nio’s SkyOS system.
Built on Nio’s 900-volt high-voltage architecture, the SUV is powered by dual electric motors producing a combined 520 kW (707 horsepower) and 700 Nm of torque.
It is equipped with a 102 kWh battery pack offering CLTC range options of 580, 600, and 620 km depending on configuration.
Pre-sale pricing starts at 528,000 yuan with the battery pack included, equivalent to $77,200.
Deliveries are planned to begin on June 1 and the model will make its public debut at the Beijing Auto Show opening April 24.
