N@N

Gentex: Gentex Announces First Range Rover Automatic High-Beam Assist (SmartBeam(R)) Program

^{Published on 2009-05-20 05:48:05, Last Modified on 2009-11-02 12:21:29 - Market Wire}
 

ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - May 20, 2009) - Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: [ GNTX ]), the leading supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry, has announced that it is supplying auto-dimming mirrors with its proprietary Automatic High-Beam Assist (SmartBeam) feature for the 2010 Range Rover. The 2010 model will be available worldwide beginning this summer.

In addition to interior auto-dimming mirrors, both driver and passenger exterior auto-dimming mirrors will be standard equipment. As optional content, the interior mirror features Gentex's SmartBeam High-Beam Headlamp Assist feature and side blind zone monitor technology is displayed in the exterior rearview mirrors. SmartBeam uses a miniature camera-on-a-chip combined with algorithmic decision making to automatically turn a vehicle's high beams on and off according to surrounding traffic conditions. The system is designed to maximize a vehicle's forward lighting and to eliminate the repetitive and sometimes burdensome task of turning the high beams on and off.

"Though Range Rover has featured Gentex technology for many years, this is the first time the Range Rover offers Automatic High-Beam Assist," said Enoch Jen, Gentex Senior Vice President. "It has become a popular feature for customers in Europe and North America."

Gentex has been shipping its SmartBeam feature to various automakers since 2004. More than a million of these imager systems are in operation on vehicles throughout Europe and North America, making Gentex the leading provider of automotive-grade camera-based active safety systems.

Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: [ GNTX ]) is an international company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive industry and North American fire protection market. Based in Zeeland, Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Many of the mirrors are sold with advanced electronic features, and more than 96 percent of the Company's revenues are derived from the sale of auto-dimming mirrors to nearly every major automaker in the world.