A lighting unit for a motor vehicle, having a reflector, a circuit board with at least one light source, and a heat sink, wherein the circuit board is arranged on the reflector in an assembled state of the lighting unit in such a way that the light source is associated with a reflecting surface of the reflector for directed emission of the light emitted by the light source, and wherein the circuit board can be cooled in the region of the light source via the heat sink in the assembled state of the lighting unit. The circuit board is arranged between the reflector and the heat sink in the assembled state of the lighting unit and is positioned relative to the reflector and the heat sink in a predefined spatial position via the reflector and the heat sink.