LG to sell 50,000 OLED TVs in 2012
By Kim Yoo-chul
LG Electronics, the world’s second-biggest flat-screen television maker, plans to produce and sell 50,000 55-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions this year, a senior company executive said, Tuesday.
The executive, who is directly involved with the matter, told The Korea Times it will sell the premium sets that cost $10,000 each to ``target customers’’ in key markets such as the Middle East, Europe and the United States, as well as Singapore and Australia.
The executive said the 50,000 sets are equal to less than 1 percent of the overall market share because OLED televisions are still at an infant stage. Moreover, LG Electronics’ display-making affiliate LG Display will start supplying OLED screens from the latter half, meaning LG will have a limited time to market the televisions.
``LG doesn’t expect huge demand for OLED televisions over the next few years. But we need to send clear signals to our royal clients that we have qualified and proven technology in the next-generation sets,’’ said the executive in a brief meeting in Seoul.
The new televisions use white-OLED (W-OLED) technology, which mixes white with standard red, green and blue pixels. LG insists the hybrid OLED panels have more advantages than those of its rivals.
This is the first time a major television manufacturer has unveiled its annual OLED television sales target. Samsung’s 55-inch OLED set will go into the market from the second half of this year. But Samsung Electronics spokesman Song Cheol-gyu declined to unveil the company’s initial sales goal.
But Samsung’s top European Marketing Director Michael Zoeller said recently the world’s top TV maker will definitely show ``design-improved’’ OLED sets.
OLED televisions are the next big-thing for the industry due to its thin and brighter screens, though price is the biggest concern.
``OLED still has many technical problems to solve,’’ said Paul Gray, director of TV electronics research at DisplaySearch Europe.
Despite such challenging factors, Japan’s Sony ― which has ended its seven-year partnership with Samsung ― is partnering Panasonic to speed up the development of mass-produced OLED televisions by sharing design techniques.
The LG executive said the company is confident it will lead Samsung, Sony and Panasonic in OLED televisions as the yield rate of production for its patented white-OLED screens is higher than Samsung’s screens.
LG expects OLED will start to replace LCD televisions from 2012 at the earliest. ``It’s likely OLED sets will to cost as little as 1.5 times the price of LED-backlit LCD sets. If that happens, then OLED panel suppliers will increase their investments for more output, pulling down the price of OLED screens,’’ said the executive.