“Hi Li Xiang, navigate to the South Gate of Zhengding.” No sooner had the words been spoken than the vehicle navigation system accurately recognized the command and mapped out the optimal route. Zhang Yuanhao, owner of an Li L6, said the full-vehicle voice interaction function frees drivers’ hands and improves the driving experience.

Vehicle-mounted digital microphones play a vital role in enabling smart vehicles to “understand human speech”. This Li Xiang all-electric car is equipped with four high-performance digital microphones. Its primary supplier is Frist Light Auto Parts Co., Ltd., based in Shijiazhuang.

On June 10, in the SMT (Surface Mount Technology) workshop of Frist Light, three dual-track automated production lines were running at full capacity. SMT placement machines, automated welding robots, online intelligent inspection equipment and other devices operated in well-coordinated synergy. In the final assembly workshop, vehicle-mounted digital microphones, each about the size of a USB flash drive, were loaded onto trays and sealed in cartons, ready for delivery to automakers in Beijing.

“In June, orders for our vehicle-mounted digital microphones rose by 30% compared with the same period last year,” introduced Zhong Shengli, Deputy Technical General Manager of Frist Light. As a core component for intelligent voice interaction, the vehicle-mounted digital microphone converts sound signals into electrical signals and supports voice recognition, voice control, Bluetooth calling and other functions.

Founded in 2016, Frist Light specializes in the R&D, production and sales of automotive original equipment electronic products. Its flagship products include vehicle-mounted digital microphones, active noise reduction sensors and on-board charging modules. The company has established in-depth cooperation with new energy vehicle manufacturers such as Li Auto, XPeng, Seres and Leapmotor. As a core supplier of vehicle-mounted digital microphones, it supplies more than 5 million sets of such microphones every year.

This tiny microphone serves as a vivid epitome of coordinated industrial development across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

In recent years, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have accelerated the development of the new energy and intelligent connected vehicle industrial chain, yielding remarkable results in coordinated growth. Frist Light supplies vehicle-mounted digital microphones to Li Auto. The product casings are sourced from an enterprise in Tianjin. Assemblies finished in Shijiazhuang in the morning can be delivered to the automaker’s Beijing production base in the afternoon.

In 2025, the output of new energy vehicles in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region increased by 51.7% year-on-year. Riding this momentum, Frist Light achieved sales revenue of 320 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30%.

Since the start of this year, with capacity expansion and the launch of multiple new models by new energy vehicle manufacturers in Beijing, orders for vehicle-mounted digital microphones from Beijing have climbed 30% year-on-year. New products including active noise reduction sensors and on-board charging modules have successively entered automakers’ supply chains, with the market share of its products steadily rising.

Deeply engaged in the track of original electronic components for new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, Frist Light was named a Shijiazhuang Gazelle Enterprise in 2024 and awarded the title of National Specialized, Refined, Differential and Innovative “Little Giant” Enterprise in 2025.

Continuous technological research keeps Frist Light at the forefront of the industry.

The “New-Generation High Anti-Interference Array Microphone + Full-Domain Active Noise Reduction System” is a newly launched flagship product of the company, which is now supplied in batches to multiple new energy vehicle manufacturers.

New energy vehicles face technical challenges: strong electromagnetic interference tends to distort microphone sound pickup, and traditional noise reduction products cannot balance call clarity and in-cabin quietness when driving with windows down. This product is developed to address such industry pain points.

Frist Light took the lead in launching the project, with R&D teams from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei dividing work and complementing each other’s strengths.

R&D teams from Beijing automakers leveraged their strengths in algorithms to build vehicle noise simulation models and optimize voice recognition and noise reduction algorithms. Automotive electronics laboratories in Tianjin were responsible for electromagnetic compatibility tests and full-condition simulation tests. Frist Light’s R&D team focused on hardware structural design, component selection and production process optimization, translating cutting-edge technologies into mass-produced products.

Over seven months, the team iterated 12 versions of product solutions and completed thousands of vehicle tests, successfully overcoming technical hurdles. The upgraded product delivers a 40% improvement in anti-interference performance and a 35% lift in noise reduction effect.

The company’s product portfolio keeps expanding, bringing forth new growth drivers.

This year, Frist Light’s newly iterated high-sensitivity, high-signal-to-noise ratio, ultra-low-power digital microphones and high-power on-board charging modules have been officially supplied to Beijing automakers. Special exterior microphones for high-level autonomous driving have entered vehicle testing.

When our reporter visited Frist Light, Technical Manager Feng Suolei had just returned from a customer visit.

“I just met with Huawei to discuss in-depth cooperation on intelligent cockpit projects for AITO and other brands under the ‘Five Realms and Three States’ product matrix. Frist Light’s products such as vehicle-mounted digital microphones will be more precisely integrated into automakers’ supply chains. The enterprise will transform from a single component supplier to a service provider of acoustic system solutions for intelligent cockpits,” said Feng Suolei.

From Zhong Shengli’s perspective, this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period and a critical phase for accelerated integration of the new energy and intelligent connected vehicle industrial chain across Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

“Frist Light will keep pace with the R&D rhythm of new models developed by automakers in Beijing and Tianjin, expand the supporting scale of vehicle microphones, active noise reduction sensors and on-board charging modules. We strive to raise our supporting penetration rate among mainstream new energy vehicle manufacturers in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei by another 15% in 2026, and build a benchmark enterprise featuring nearby supporting and collaborative innovation for electronic components of intelligent connected vehicles in the region,” said Zhong Shengli