The automotive industry recognizes the vibrant development of augmented reality (AR) technology and identifies that it will be a great enhancement for the business. Recently, Augmented reality head-up displays (HUDs) are showcased with fascinating and useful applications. Several automotive OEMs advertise their intent to implement AR HUDs in future programs. We will focus on HUDs, provide an overview of AR HUD use cases, the requirements to create AR experience, and review the enabling technology. Specifically, we will review and describe the key elements of phase holography and the use of this powerful technology to achieve a compact optical system design.