Lighting 33 www.aftermarketonline.net OCTOBER 2026 The three facts of light #1Check & Change Be proactive – check all the lights are working correctly on your vehicle. Look for bulbs that are blown or flickering or dim and consider changing them before they burn out! #2Change in pairs Be smart – headlights function best when both are working. Change them in pairs to ensure you get a balanced light on the road ahead. #3Upgrade your vision Be innovative – upgrade your headlights for ones that are brighter and whiter such as NIGHT BREAKER® 220, meaning you can see further and react faster to dangers and obstacles on the road. osram.co.uk/am Be road ready Buy and fit genuine OE quality bulbs this lighting season. Don’t compromise the safety of your customers and the reputation of your business. With OSRAM bulbs, you can be sure you are buying and fitting quality assured bulbs that meet all the necessary regulations. Available online or from your local LKQ/ECP Branch. 17116 01 OSRAM Bulbs 190x130mm Aftermarket Mag.indd 1 07/09/2026 15:16 inspection. OSRAM hopes this will be an interim measure until legislation changes, with more ECE-approved LED bulbs expected in the coming years. What should a garage do? “A garage should probably not fit any LED bulbs where they are to be used ‘on public roads’ as generally LEDs are only approved for use ‘Off-Road’ only,” OSRAM said. Instead, the company says garages can recommend ECE-approved halogen or HID upgrades. Where a motorist wants an H11 or C5W LED bulb, garages can also offer the new OSRAM ECE-approved variants. OSRAM says its LEDs state “Off-Road Use Only” on the packaging, except for the new ECE-approved products, which state “Street-Legal”. It says currently only H11 and C5W LED bulbs have an ECE approval standard. When customers supply their own bulbs Garages may also encounter motorists who have bought LED retrofit bulbs online and ask the workshop to fit them. “The market is flooded with cheap, poor quality products that could cause damage to a vehicle headlamp,” OSRAM said. “We would not recommend garages fit cheap, no name branded bulbs from untrustworthy marketplaces.” OSRAM says that, at present, no other brand of bulbs has an LED ECE approval. If an OSRAM product is presented, it says garages should only allow the fitment of H11 or C5W ECE-approved LED bulbs. “If they present OSRAM H7 LED bulb, then they must educate the motorist on the rules and suggest valid upgrades,” the company said. OSRAM again notes the exception for pre-1986 vehicles and single-source headlamp vehicles. Why can retrofit LEDs cause glare? OSRAM says fitting an LED bulb into a headlamp originally designed for halogen can alter the beam pattern because its optics were engineered around the exact size and position of a halogen filament. “When the light source changes, the reflector or projector may no longer focus the light correctly,” OSRAM explained. “As a result the beam cutoff can become distorted, allowing light to spill above the intended pattern.” OSRAM says early LED bulbs did not match the light output from a halogen bulb, meaning the reflector could not gather the light in the same way. This could result in an inaccurate beam pattern and glare, which is why LED bulbs were deemed for off-road use only. “This is still the case today with LED bulbs,” OSRAM said. “The difference being that the ECE-approved H11 and C5W LED bulbs developed by OSRAM produce light to replicate a halogen light output and so will work with the complex surface reflectors and put an accurate beam pattern on the road.” For now, the current MOT restrictions remain in place, while OSRAM is in discussions with the DVSA and DfT over changes to accommodate its ECEapproved H11 and C5W LEDs. www.osram.co.uk
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