LG Display set to benefit from post-pandemic automotive display boom

The rapid growth of the electric vehicle market and the advance of autonomous driving technology is providing a silver lining for automotive display panel makers, still reeling from sluggish car sales during the pandemic.

Market tracker Omdia recently revised up its 2023 forecast for the size of the global automotive display market to $9.5 billion from $8.8 billion. The research firm expects the in-vehicle display market to grow further to over $10 billion in 2024.

“The car display market shows signs of expanding rapidly as the auto industry is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and thanks to the easing of the global automotive chip shortage,” said an industry official.

Display panels are becoming one of the key components for in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems, with various parts such as windows, instrument panels and even knobs adopting display panels.

The display area inside a car will likely grow more than tenfold in the next few years -- a boon for vendors as automotive panels are more expensive than mobile displays, industry officials said.

MARKET LEADER LG

LG Display Co., the world's top manufacturer of large-size organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels, is also the market leader in the automotive display segment.

According to Omdia, LG controlled 19.7% of the automotive display market in the first half, followed by China’s BOE Technology (16.3%) and Japan’s Sharp (14.2%).

LG Display said it plans to tighten its market leadership by strengthening the 10-inch and larger size premium segment as drivers prefer larger screens to see the dashboard, infotainment and navigation systems on the same panel.

As part of such efforts, LG unveiled a 34-inch curved plastic or P-OLED, the largest automotive display of its kind, in May.

The 10-inch and larger panels accounted for 50.5% of the global automotive display market in the first half, according to Omdia.

The research firm expects the automotive OLED market to expand from $166.4 million this year to $889.4 million by 2026. LG Display is also the market leader in this segment with a 91% market share.

In January, LG Display and its affiliate LG Electronics Inc. signed a deal to supply an infotainment system with OLED displays to Mercedes-Benz AG for the German carmaker’s electric vehicle EQS model.

The dashboard for the premium electric car boasts a large curved screen to provide panoramic views. The infotainment system is designed to simultaneously operate three monitors: a dashboard, a center information display and a co-driver display.

LG Display and its crosstown rival Samsung Display Co. are shifting their focus to OLED panels, in which they have a competitive edge over Chinese companies in terms of manufacturing technology.

OLED is highlighted by self-illuminating pixels that do not require a separate light source, allowing manufacturers to produce lightweight, thin and flexible display products, appealing to high-end consumers.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.