LG Display aims to be top automotive display supplier
LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom, right, speaks at a press conference at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, the United States. / Courtesy of LG Display
By Kim Yoo-chul
LG Display has pledged to become the global No. 1 supplier of vehicle displays by next year.
"LG Display aims for a 23 percent global share in the market for vehicle displays by 2016," CEO Han Sang-beom said at a press conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas.
He estimated the company’s share in the auto screen market at 16 percent last year.
"LG Display has received growing orders from carmakers in the United States and Germany. This is a new business that is very promising and has huge growth potential," Han said.
The automotive displays will be plastic-based flexible OLEDs. LG said they expect flexible OLEDs to "fast replace the currently available glass-made LCD panels."
While LG is focusing on screens used for navigation and parts of control displays, there is room to use them more widely within vehicles such as for the entire dashboard, said Han.
For OLED displays, the CEO said it will be "very aggressive" in production as yields have improved.
"The situation is favorable for us. OLED TV prices have been lowered to the level that could awaken idling demand for consumers for premium products without the huge barrier of pricing," said Han.
In accordance with the belief, LG Display plans to more than quadruple its monthly production capacity for OLED panels for TVs by the end of this year.
It will expand the monthly output capacity at its eighth-generation factory in Paju, near the North-South border, to 34,000 from the current 8,000.
"We aim to ship 1.5 million OLED TV panels next year from this year's estimated 600,000," he said.
Han said the initial response to its massive 55-inch and 65-inch OLED TVs from consumers in target markets was "impressive," adding the demand for OLED TVs this year will reach 4 million out of a total TV demand of 220 million.
The CEO said LG is on a track to leapfrog its display technologies into foldable screens.
"At our Paju plant, we can produce 14,000 plastic OLED panels, monthly. A decision about plans to invest in foldable displays will be coming soon," said the executive.
LG Display supplies display panels to sister company LG Electronics, as well as Apple.
The CEO is expected to hold key business meetings with major clients including carmakers in the United States during the show.