Samsung, LG turning to car display panels

Seen is LG Display's OLED display panel for a car at this year's Consumer Electric Show in Las Vegas. / Courtesy of LG Display

By Baek Byung-yeul

While the display market has been saturated by budget Chinese companies, Korean manufacturers are turning their eyes to in-vehicle display panels, which are primed for growth over the coming years.

Industrial data showed the market value for global automotive displays was 7 trillion won ($6.5 billion) last year, but is expected to grow to 24 trillion won by 2024.

Industry watchers presume the market will be expanded to the next level when car makers begin adopting more organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels. While manufacturers are struggling with decreased demand for smartphones, TVs and personal computers, the automotive display market has seen annual growth of 23 percent over the past eight years.

LG Display also believes the automotive display market will help turn its sluggish sales around. The firm, which saw its first operating loss in six years in the first quarter of this year, has a market share of 14 percent second only to JDI.

According to automobile industry, LG Display is planning to supply OLED panels for Mercedes-Benz S-Class and E-Class cars starting 2020. Mercedes-Benz has attracted customers with vehicles equipped with a wide screen that combines a dashboard and a central display. Equipped with two 12.3-inch LCD screens, the German maker's S-, E- and A- classes have been well received across the world.

This could be a breakthrough for LG as the company is the first display maker to supply OLED panels to a car maker. Hana Financial Investment recently reported that LG Display is expected to show strength in OLED panels for cars.

Samsung Display also has been supplying its OLED panels to Audi for its A8 premium sedan which has a rear-seat 5.7-inch display panel.

At this year's Display Week International Symposium (SID) last month, Samsung showcased its latest OLED technology.

There, the company introduced flexible OLED displays. It unveiled what it calls an "unbreakable" 6.22-inch display with an all-plastic design that has additional durability for the automotive environment.

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