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Valeo Q&ALighting up
Lighting up
24 Jun 2009
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Discover the explosive side of car headlamp bulbs as Philips launches bid to capture UK market
LIGHTING giant Philips has revealed its plans to capture the UK market for replacement bulbs.
The company staged a press conference yesterday (Tuesday 23rd June) saying it wanted to “re-educate” the trade about bulb technology and profiting from bulb replacement work.
“With respect, we want to re-educate the trade,” said UK aftermarket sales manager Ed Savage. “Garages lose money by not charging to fit bulbs. There’s a perception in the UK [among drivers] that fitting a headlight is like changing a bulb in your house.
“It can take anywhere between 20 minutes and two hours to fit a bulb. In many situations a mechanic should be charging an hour’s labour for fitting a bulb but people are scared of losing business.
Ed continued: “If it’s taking 20 minutes to fit a bulb you want to fit the best bulbs because you don’t want a customer coming back after a problem and wanting you to do it for free.”
The company has already established agreements with Euro Car Parts and other distributors to channel its products into workshops across the country.
Philips customers will get access to the www.changemetool.com website which gives instructions on complex fitting procedures.
Thomas Henin, Philips’ head of European sales for automotive lighting, said it took two-and-a-half hours to change the bulbs on a Renault Modus.
“Everything should be compared to Philips as our products are the benchmark of the industry,” said Ed.
In an attempt to prove his confidence, he plugged a randomly selected competitor bulb (taken from a selection including Halfords, Bosch and Ring Automotive bulbs) into a 12V testing rig next to a standard Philips light.
A volunteer from the audience poured water over the two bulbs (pictured above right). The competitor unit exploded while the Philips bulb continued to shine.
Ed said all Philips’ bulbs were made from ‘quartz glass’ rather than the industry standard ‘hard glass’ making them resistant to fluctuations in temperature.
“It’s a very rare occurrence,” admitted Ed. “But there are occasions when a crack in the headlight housing means water gets in and you can get a blown headlight bulb.”
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