Topics at the Allianz Center for Technology:
Study on Headlight Repair Costs
Modern vehicle headlights are becoming increasingly high-performance — and increasingly expensive. While a headlight cost an average of 708 Euros in Germany in 2015, the price had already risen to 1,251 euros by 2025 (+77 percent). According to estimates by the Allianz Center for Technology, in addition to technological developments toward LED and matrix headlights, current vehicle designs are also driving up repair costs.
July 2026
Only headlight bracket repairs are permitted in Germany
According to our estimates, approximately 870,000 vehicle headlights are damaged in Germany each year. However, in Germany, only the repair of damaged headlight brackets is approved by the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt ( the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Germany). Many vehicle manufacturers now also offer repair solutions for this purpose.
According to our analyses, damaged headlights are often replaced entirely even in cases where a bracket repair would have been possible. It is estimated that this is feasible in approximately 10 percent of all cases — with significant savings potential: For a modern LED headlight, a bracket repair alone can save around 46 kilograms of CO₂ compared to replacing the entire component. This results in an annual savings potential of approximately 4,000 metric tons of CO₂ and around 104 million Euros.
“With the rise in spare part prices, the right to repair vehicle headlights is becoming increasingly important. Repairs can reduce costs, conserve resources, and strengthen sustainability in claims management,” explains AZT Managing Director Christian Sahr.
Other headlight repairs are not currently provided for in Germany
Many repair options currently remain untapped. More extensive repairs — particularly those involving the replacement of electronic components, housings, or lenses — are not provided for by most vehicle manufacturers, even though tested and feasible repair options already exist.
A positive example is modern headlight systems, in which individual components such as brackets, housings, electronics, or lens covers can be replaced separately. This means that the entire headlight does not necessarily have to be replaced.
“Through our research at the AZT, we have shown that replacing a headlight housing and reusing the electronics within the headlight is technically feasible for many types of damage. For example, replacing the headlight housing is up to 80 percent cheaper and significantly more environmentally friendly than installing a new headlight,” says Sahr.
Repairing headlight glass not permitted in Germany at specialized workshops
The potential for greater sustainability and lower repair costs remains untapped, particularly when it comes to headlight glass. Repairing the clear glass headlight cover in cases of minor scratches or stone chips is technically possible through professional sanding and painting, but is currently not permitted in Germany.
“Minor scratches and stone chip damage to the headlight cover can be professionally repaired,” says Sahr. “Nevertheless, this repair method is currently not permitted in Germany. If such repairs were allowed, high material costs, expenses, and CO₂ emissions could be avoided.”
Demands on legislators and automakers
We call on vehicle manufacturers to take the right to repair seriously and, particularly in the case of expensive vehicle components such as headlights, to offer repair options that go beyond owner-performed repairs — for example, by allowing the replacement of electronic components, housings, or lenses, or professional repainting by a specialized workshop in cases of superficial scratches or a dull finish on the lens.
We call on lawmakers to require vehicle manufacturers to integrate the above-mentioned effective headlight repair methods — which go beyond owner-performed repairs — into the type approval process at the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt and to explicitly include the lens as a repairable component.
“Repairing instead of replacing must also become the standard for modern vehicle headlights — in the interest of customers, the environment, and affordable mobility,” said Sahr.
The potential CO₂ emission reductions mentioned are based on the following studies:
