CINEVE | CMS Adoption Accelerates: Three Years After Regulation Implementation, Electronic Rearview Mirrors Reach a Market Inflection Point

In March 2026, SAIC Audi’s second all-new pure electric SUV, the E7X, was officially launched on the brand’s official app, following the E5 by once again offering electronic exterior mirrors (Camera Monitoring System, CMS) across the entire lineup. Looking across the market, multiple production models, including the Lotus Eletre, AVATR 12, and Stelato S9, have already implemented CMS solutions. Once regarded as a “high-tech electronic mirror” exclusive to premium vehicles, CMS is now transitioning from a differentiated selling point for a limited number of brands into a standardized strategic deployment embraced by mainstream automakers.

SAIC Audi E7X Equipped with Tianhan Technology CMS Electronic Rearview Mirrors

Since the official implementation of China’s national standard GB 15084-2022 in July 2023, CMS has been legally permitted for road use for three years. Over this period, the industry has completed the full cycle from regulatory breakthroughs and product deployment to market validation. However, the key question for the industry chain is no longer simply whether CMS can be installed. More importantly, CMS is evolving from a solution that merely “replaces traditional optical mirrors” into a core lateral perception node for vehicles. A steady and upward growth trajectory for the CMS market is now becoming increasingly evident.

1. Regulatory Breakthrough: From “Road-Legal Approval” to Delivering Real Vehicle Value

The three major automotive markets—China, Europe, and Japan—have successively relaxed regulatory restrictions on electronic rearview mirrors, removing the biggest policy barrier to CMS commercialization. However, regulations are only the entry ticket. The real driving force behind automakers’ active adoption of CMS lies in the unique structural advantages it brings to vehicle design and performance:

1.1 Reducing Drag and Improving Range: A Key Engineering Advantage for Electric Vehicles 

Traditional exterior rearview mirrors have a frontal projection area of approximately 0.08–0.12 m². CMS compact camera modules and mounting structures can reduce the exposed frontal area by 60%–80%, lowering the vehicle’s drag coefficient by around 0.009–0.02 Cd and directly extending pure electric driving range by 5–10 km. For new energy vehicles competing in an increasingly crowded market, every additional kilometer of range represents tangible product competitiveness.

EYEX Automotive-Grade Electronic Rearview Mirror: Addressing Real-World Driving Pain Points

1.2 Breaking Physical Limitations and Achieving a Fully Blind-Spot-Free View 

Traditional optical mirrors have inherent limitations, including A-pillar blind spots, nighttime glare, and blurred visibility during heavy rain. CMS overcomes these challenges through advanced algorithms that expand the field of view and dynamically adjust wide-angle perspectives. During turning or reversing, the system can automatically enlarge side and rear images, while real-time image enhancement improves visibility in challenging scenarios such as tunnels, rainy nights, and backlight conditions. CMS enables drivers to truly “see clearly” rather than merely “see something.”

EYEX Automotive-Grade Electronic Rearview Mirror: Solving Real-World Driving Challenges

1.3 Completing the Intelligent Driving Loop and Addressing Lateral Perception Gaps

CMS camera systems provide real-time visual data that can be deeply integrated with side-facing millimeter-wave radar and LiDAR data, enabling faster response times and more accurate recognition for advanced intelligent driving functions such as Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Door Opening Warning (DOW), and lane change assistance. By building a comprehensive perception framework covering the vehicle’s side and rear areas, CMS helps complete the intelligent driving perception loop and strengthens overall driving safety and automation capabilities.

2. Short-term growth hurdles: Three real-world obstacles dictate a gradual pace of market adoption.

Despite their clear value proposition, CMS (Camera Monitor Systems) remain in the late stages of market introduction, with widespread adoption still some time away. Industry data from Zhosys Research clearly illustrates the current landscape: in 2024, the total volume of factory-installed CMS in domestic passenger vehicles was under 10,000 units, spanning only five models. While the number of supported models rose to ten between January and May 2025 (including brands like Lotus, Avatr, BAIC, and Stelato), overall installation volumes remain low. Furthermore, optional retail prices generally range from 8,000 to 15,000 RMB; this high cost leads many average consumers to adopt a "wait-and-see" approach.

Industry growth is sluggish, primarily due to three key pain points:

1. High hardware cost barriers: Components such as high-resolution automotive cameras, high-performance FPGA controllers, automotive-grade displays with brightness exceeding 1,500 nits, and ASIL-B functional safety certification significantly increase the per-vehicle Bill of Materials (BOM) cost—expenses that cannot be offset by economies of scale in the short term.

2. User visual adaptation challenges: Flat displays lack the natural depth perception provided by optical mirrors, making it easy for novice drivers to misjudge distances and speeds. Solutions rely on parallax compensation, distance reference lines, and continuous image algorithm optimization to gradually cultivate user habits.

3. Automakers' ROI trade-offs: While automakers are unwilling to abandon the race for intelligent differentiation, the high costs of R&D and integration, combined with limited consumer willingness to pay a premium, mean most brands treat CMS merely as an option for high-end models. This represents a "defensive" strategic move rather than an "offensive" strategy aimed at mass-market adoption.

Based on the current situation, optical mirrors and CMS electronic mirrors will coexist and complement each other for the next one to two years. The 2026–2027 period marks a critical watershed for the industry: CMS will only see large-scale adoption once three conditions are simultaneously met—increased installation volumes, reduced supply chain costs, and positive user feedback.

3. Comprehensive parameter overhaul in three years! Iteration of the three core CMS technologies: Evolving from "functional" to "user-friendly."

In just three years, core CMS metrics—hardware, image quality, and latency—have undergone continuous upgrades. High-end solutions far exceed the minimum national standard requirements, with visibly superior performance:

Key industry insight

While the national standard only requires latency to be under 200ms, latency is the critical, often overlooked threshold for truly replacing optical mirrors. Currently, mainstream domestic CMS systems keep latency below 60ms, with leading companies like Yuanfeng achieving under 40ms—performance levels more than five times better than the national standard.

Commercial vehicles lead the way in profitable business models, serving as the vanguard for CMS adoption.

Unlike the slow penetration seen in passenger vehicles, CMS for commercial vehicles has already achieved commercial profitability and faster deployment: 

Mercedes-Benz’s MirrorCam electronic mirror system has been shown to reduce overall vehicle fuel consumption by 1.3%. Based on an annual mileage of 200,000 km, a single truck can save nearly 5,000 RMB in fuel costs per year, resulting in very high acceptance among commercial customers.

Overseas supplier Stoneridge: CMS revenue reached $66 million in 2024 and is projected to exceed $120 million in 2025. 

Domestic supply chain deployment is accelerating: Yuxing Electronics has secured CMS design wins totaling over 1.5 billion RMB, while Senpeng Electronics surpassed 10,000 units installed by June 2025. Clear cost-reduction benefits in commercial applications have enabled CMS to achieve scaled validation first, laying a mature supply chain foundation for mass adoption in the passenger vehicle market.

4. Long-term ultimate form: CMS goes beyond replacing side mirrors to become a core node for lateral vehicle perception.

The industry potential for CMS extends far beyond merely replacing a reflective mirror; it is poised to become an indispensable hub for side-rear perception in smart vehicles. Its long-term evolution follows a clear trajectory: 

deep integration with advanced ADAS—combining high-definition CMS imagery with lateral millimeter-wave radar and LiDAR to significantly enhance the safety and stability of intelligent driving decisions such as lane changing, obstacle avoidance, and automatic overtaking;

• Continuous expansion of functional boundaries: introducing differentiated features such as extended visibility for towed trailers, precise door-opening warnings, image enhancement for rain, snow, and fog, and assistance for passing oncoming vehicles on narrow roads;

• Next-generation sensor technology evolution: future integration of event-based cameras and light-field cameras; event cameras offer microsecond-level ultra-low latency and ultra-high dynamic range to completely eliminate motion blur, while light-field cameras can reconstruct 3D depth, fundamentally resolving the issue of distance misjudgment inherent in flat-screen displays;

• Supply chain maturity driving significant cost reductions: with the mass production of domestic CMOS image sensors, SerDes transmission chips, and FPGA controllers, the total CMS Bill of Materials (BOM) cost is expected to drop from the current 8,000–15,000 RMB range to 3,000–5,000 RMB, paving the way for widespread standard adoption in mainstream family vehicles priced between 150,000 and 200,000 RMB; meanwhile, the standardization of SerDes hardware interfaces across the industry will simplify supply chain management for automakers.

• The widespread adoption of CMS marks a generational shift: visual interaction between the vehicle and its external environment is evolving from passive, fixed optical reflection into active, adjustable, and enhanced digital perception. This is not a disruptive revolution but a progressive, structural replacement—the initial phase focuses on regulatory compliance, the subsequent two years on cost and user experience, and the following stage on integration with intelligent driving systems. For OEMs and suppliers, mastering CMS signifies the acquisition of a core integration capability essential for future intelligent cockpits and autonomous driving. This transformation will reach its first true inflection point in 2026.