Drivers once relied on that slightly curved piece of glass inside the car to watch the road behind. Today, a high-definition, connected, intelligent screen — the Digital Rearview Mirror (DRM) — is finding its way into an increasing number of new vehicles. By capturing footage in real time via camera and displaying it on a screen, it addresses long-standing pain points of traditional optical mirrors: blind spots, glare interference, and obstruction by rain or fog.
Foryou's fourth-generation Digital Rearview Mirror (Image source: Foryou Corporation)
Data from Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute indicates that installations of digital rearview mirrors in China's passenger car OEM market topped 1 million units in 2025, with penetration rates climbing rapidly. In the mainstream price bracket of 200,000 to 400,000 yuan, DRM is quickly shifting from a high-end option to a standard feature. Meanwhile, core supplier Foryou Corporation reveals that automakers are placing greater emphasis on DRM, noting that its OEM installations surged nearly 400% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Digital rearview mirrors are hardly a "new species." Foryou Corporation, for instance, began laying the groundwork back in 2016. So why has this technology, after years of incubation, only exploded onto the market in the last two years? Where does the tech stand now, and what is the market landscape? Let's take a closer look.
From Policy to Experience: Three Engines Driving DRM's Scale-Up
This rapid business growth is no accident. On a macro level, it is driven by a combination of policy, technology, and evolving user demands.
Driver 1: Policy Deregulation Accelerates Industrialization. The implementation of China's new "Performance and Installation Requirements for Indirect Vision Devices for Motor Vehicles" (GB 15084-2022) in 2023 sparked a wave of industrialization for digital rearview mirrors. As one of the first companies to pass the Class I product inspection under this standard and participate in its revision, Foryou Corporation has successfully equipped its products with numerous mainstream brands, including Great Wall Motor, SAIC Motor (including Rising Auto), BAIC and AITO.
Image source: Foryou Corporation
Driver 2: Technological Maturity and Falling Costs. By combining cameras and screens, digital rearview mirrors resolve the limitations of traditional mirrors — susceptibility to bad weather, significant blind spots, and nighttime glare. This significantly enhances driving safety, particularly in scenarios like driving in rain or fog, preventing high-beam dazzle at night, and reversing. Furthermore, as the domestic supply chain for HDR cameras and image processing chips matures, hardware costs continue to decline, further driving product adoption.
Comparison of traditional rearview mirror (top) and digital rearview mirror (bottom) (Image source: Foryou Corporation)
Driver 3: Rising User Awareness and Upgraded Demands. As the concept of the smart cockpit becomes ubiquitous, users are demanding higher levels of safety and convenience. With the rising configuration rate of rear ceiling screens, digital rearview mirrors directly address core pain points and needs. Combined with added functions like dashcam recording and parking monitoring, market acceptance is rising rapidly.
Propelled by regulations, technological maturity, and clear demand, the digital rearview mirror market has entered a period of rapid penetration. Currently, numerous domestic brands — including NIO, XPENG, Li Auto, AITO, BYD, Geely, and Changan — are actively promoting the technology. Among joint ventures, Buick, Toyota, and Honda are gradually rolling it out in new mid- to high-trim models.
Technological Leap and Product Rivalry: From "Clear Display" to "Smart Integration"
Rapid market penetration is pushing automakers and supply chain companies to double down on upgrading DRM technology. Amid the high-speed development of automotive intelligence, the competitive landscape has moved beyond simple image transmission to a comprehensive contest centered on image quality, reliability, and smart integration.
Take Foryou Corporation's fourth-generation Digital Rearview Mirror (DRM) as an example, it achieves comprehensive advancements in design, field of view, comfort, and intelligence.
Minimalist Integrated Design. The product features a unified silver mirror surface. In physical mirror mode or when the screen is off, the display blends seamlessly with the frame, offering both a high-tech aesthetic and sleek appearance.
Ultra-Wide, Unobstructed Field of View. Beyond eliminating obstructions from rear passengers or trunk cargo, the fourth-generation DRM adapts to scenarios involving rear ceiling screens, projection screens, or vehicles without rear windshields.
Visual Comfort and Reliable Imaging. The new model boasts a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, capable of resisting strong backlighting. It employs DC dimming technology to eliminate flickering, reducing eye strain during prolonged viewing. Equipped with LC dimming glass, it offers automatic anti-glare capabilities, enhancing driver comfort.
Observing the rear via the screen directly avoids strong light from following vehicles; glare intensity is effectively suppressed, keeping the road conditions behind clearly visible. (Image source: Foryou Corporation)
On the reliability front, the fourth-generation DRM features a high-definition telephoto camera, making road conditions clear up to 100 meters away. Additionally, Foryou uses a specially tuned ISP algorithm to ensure stable, clear images in complex lighting conditions. It utilizes LFM (LED Flicker Mitigation) to effectively suppress LED light flickering for accurate imaging. With starlight night vision capabilities and HDR technology, it ensures brightness and detail restoration in low-light environments. Finally, a hydrophobic lens design and powerful image processing allow drivers to navigate rain, snow, and fog without worry.
Maintaining a clear rear view in rain, snow, and fog to improve driving safety (Image source: Foryou Corporation)
Intelligent Evolution. The fourth-generation product proactively supports integrating DRM functions into the vehicle's domain controller for efficient data sharing. This unlocks possibilities for innovative scenarios, such as deep integration with ADAS systems for dynamic blind spot warnings, or coordination with HUDs and smart infotainment systems to create a unified cockpit display ecosystem. This path aligns perfectly with the industry trend shifting from "single function" to "smart cockpit integration."
It is reported that Foryou's fourth-generation DRM has been equipped on the WEY brand's new Lanshan Intelligent Advanced Edition, becoming a major highlight of the new model. Currently, Foryou's fifth-generation DRM has entered the R&D phase, with prototype development successfully completed. Its most striking feature is an ultra-narrow bezel design — the narrowest in the industry — achieving the ultimate in material selection, structural design, and craftsmanship.
WEY New Lanshan Intelligent Advanced Edition (Image source: Great Wall Motor)
Regarding future technology trends for DRM, Foryou's R&D team predicts they will become thinner, lighter, and clearer. Furthermore, interactivity with other in-vehicle components will strengthen. This includes: linking with electronic external mirrors to eliminate physical blind spots and create a surround digital view, significantly reducing drag and improving EV range; deeply empowering high-level intelligent driving by fusing with smart driving domain controllers to provide critical rear perception redundancy for L2+ and above autonomous driving; and evolving into a human-machine collaborative interface where, in the future mobility space, DRM screens can link with other displays and AR-HUDs to safely expand infotainment and exterior interaction functions, becoming a key entry point for multi-dimensional immersive experiences.
Systemic Competition: Building a Market Moat with Full-Stack Capabilities
Industry competition extends beyond product upgrades to system construction. Foryou's explosive growth in DRM installations is closely tied to its full-stack system build-out. As one of the first companies to pass the GB 15084-2022 Class I CMS product inspection and participate in the standard's revision, Foryou possesses professional R&D capabilities, deep manufacturing expertise, and a comprehensive supply chain system.
In R&D, Foryou boasts full-link independent development capabilities spanning optical design, camera modules, core image processing algorithms, display systems, and structural components. It also deeply utilizes industrial simulation technologies — covering field-of-view, thermal, and mechanical simulations — to provide customers with highly flexible, complete one-stop solutions.
Regarding Quality Assurance, Foryou operates a CNAS-accredited laboratory covering major test categories including EMC, optics, and climate, meeting comprehensive testing requirements for product function, performance, and environmental durability.
In Manufacturing, Foryou relies on smart factories to achieve efficient, flexible digital production, enabling it to respond to customer needs with speed, precision, and agility.
Thus, for digital rearview mirrors — a new generation of automotive product — early movers like Foryou have already formed a complete closed loop in product design, R&D, and mass production. By building a market moat through full-stack capabilities, they are poised to take off rapidly once the market wind picks up.
As a leading player with over 20 years of deep experience in automotive electronics, Foryou's business extends beyond its fast-growing DRM to a rich portfolio of products and solutions covering smart cockpits and driver assistance. Foryou established an early presence in numerous fields — including HUD, electronic interior and exterior mirrors, smart acoustic systems, domain controllers, wireless charging, and smart displays. Supported by a standardized, robust full-stack system, all have achieved solid market performance. Today, its HUD installations hold roughly a quarter of the domestic market share, ranking first in the industry, with global shipments exceeding 4 million units. Its automotive wireless charging products have consistently ranked first in domestic market share and have risen to second globally. Beyond winning recognition from an increasing number of domestic automakers, Foryou's automotive electronics business continues to secure multi-product designation projects from international mainstream OEMs, including Stellantis, Ford, Volkswagen, and Hyundai.
Image source: Foryou Corporation
Thus, in the wave of rapid automotive technological evolution and integration, challenges and opportunities coexist — but opportunity consistently favors participants with forward-looking layouts and systemic capabilities.
Looking ahead, as electronic interior and exterior mirrors become ubiquitous and the integration of cockpit and driving domains accelerates, the functional boundaries of digital rearview mirrors will continue to expand — evolving from independent visual aids to key perception and interaction nodes within smart cockpits and autonomous driving systems. In this process, companies like Foryou — which have built a full-link R&D system and possess rapid iteration and compliance capabilities — will not only seize the technological opportunities of product upgrades but also use their systemic empowerment to help automakers shape differentiated user experiences in the intelligence race, becoming a vital force driving the industry forward.
