Automotive OLEDs: introduction and industry news

Last updated on Sat 20/07/2024 - 15:31

OLED is a light-emitting technology used to create thin, efficient and flexible displays and lighting panels. OLEDs are useful in many applications, such as TVs, smartphones, wearables, laptops - and also automotive displays and lighting solutions.

Mercedes EQE 350 2022, interior photo

Where can you OLEDs in cars?

There are several possible (and existing!) applications for OLED displays and lighting systems in cars:

  • Dashboard displays (instrument clusters, navigation, media, HVAC...)
  • Heads up displays
  • Internal lighting
  • External lighting (tail lights, turn indicators)
  • Digital rear-view internal mirrors
  • And more application we cannot think about today!

OLED displays for cars today

Several car models already use OLED displays today. Simple PMOLED displays have been adopted by automotive makers for many years, for example the Lexus 2010 RX for example has a white OLED display, supplementing the main 8" display.

Starting in 2021, automotive makers started to also adopt AMOLED displays in premium cars. The 2021 Mercedes S-Class for example comes standard with a 12.8-inch OLED, and the 2021 Cadillac Escalade sports a large 38-inch LGD P-OLED display (made from several displays). More recent examples include the 2024 Genesis GV70 and the Nio ET9.

2021 Cadillac Escalade OLED display photo

We expect this trend to continue, as OLED makers such as LGD, SDC, BOE and others accelerate automotive AMOLED development.

OLED lighting in cars

The automotive market is one of the most interesting markets for OLED lighting, and one of the only markets in which OLED lighting finds early success. In 2016 Audi unveiled the 2016 TT RS, which sports optional OLED taillights - the first commercial car to sport the new lighting technology. Since then several models from Audi, BMW, Hongqi, Mercedes and others have adopted OLED lighting panels.

 

Does it make sense for LG Display and Samsung Display to merge?

In this article, we examine the theoretical question of whether or not it makes sense for LG Display and Samsung Display to merge, into one company.

Note that we have no indications that such a merger is even considered by the two companies, but we feel this is a fascinating topic that should be explored, and is supported by several strong arguments.

We'll start with a short introduction to the two companies, then see why there are many reasons to pursue a merger, then explain the reasons against a possible merger, and finally detail the current financial situations of both companies.

Samsung Display and LG Display

Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. SDC is a leader in OLED production, with a market share of over 40% in the small OLED display market (the second largest player, BOE, holds a market share of around 15%). SDC produces over 300 million AMOLED displays per year - supplying them to Apple's iPhones and tablets, Samsung Electronics Galaxy phones, and many more. The Company also produces larger-area QD-OLED panels for TVs and gaming monitors, and has a capacity of producing around a million TV panels per year. SDC no longer produces any LCDs. SDC does produce microLED displays (but on a very small scale, this is currently a strictly next-gen display technology), and the company develops OLED microdisplays (and also holds OLED microdisplay producer eMagin which it acquired in 2023 for $243 million).

Read the full story Posted: Oct 08,2024

Samsung Display to invest $1.8 billion in a new OLED module production line in Vietnam

Samsung Display has decided to build a new OLED module production line in Vietnam, mostly to produce automotive OLED modules and IT OLED modules.

The new production line will be built in Yen Phong industrial park in Bac Ninh province east of Hanoi, close to an existing Samsung Electronics plant. It is understood that the Vietnamese government will provide support for Samsung's new line, which will cost a total of around $1.8 billion.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 28,2024

Yeolight confirms it is the OLED lighting supplier for Voyah's Zhiyin

Last month China-based Voyah announced a new international all-electric SUV called the Zhiyin, that includes several innovative technologies. The taillights of the car are OLED lighting based, with 33 individually controlled OLED units on both the upper and lower sections, creating unique light patterns. We assumed that Yeolight is the OLED panel supplier, and indeed now the company confirmed that.

In addition to the OLED taillights, the Zhiyin will also an AMOLED display - a "curved sliding screen" that can "slide to accommodate different user needs". While this is not confirmed, we assume that this is a similar display to the one Hongqi just revealed yesterday - a sliding rollable 14.2" AMOLED panel produced by Visionox.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 03,2024

Hongqi launches the 2025 Guoya luxury sedan, with the first sliding automotive OLED display

China's Hongqi launched its latest luxury executive sedan, the Guoya (国雅), as part of the Hongqi Golden Sunflower series. The model was previously known as the HongqiL1.

The Hongqi Guoya adopts a 14.2" rollable (sliding) AMOLED display for the center multimedia display. This is the first time such an automotive sliding AMOLED display is produced commercially (and the only second rollable screen following LG's 2020 rollable 65" OLED TV which is now discontinued). The AMOLED display is produced by Visionox, and we know that it adopts an Ultra-Thin-Glass cover. Visionox says that the display weights less than 250 grams, and it has been tested for over 200,000 cycles. 

Read the full story Posted: Sep 02,2024

Audi's 2025 Q5 and SQ5 cars to feature OLED lighting and two AMOLED displays

Audi unveiled its latest Q5 and SQ5 SUVs (2025 model). Both new cars adopt OLED lighting taillights and two AMOLED displays inside the car.

The OLED taillights utilize Audi's second-generation digital OLED solutions, and has six digital OLED lighting 'panels' made from 266 separate lighting segments. Audi says that the new OLED taillights can communicate with the vehicle’s immediate surroundings (Car-to-X) - for example it warns other road users of accidents and breakdowns in the road ahead. The OLED panels and technology are provided by OLEDWorks.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 02,2024

Voyah set to launch the all-electric Zhiyin SUV, with OLED taillights and a sliding OLED display

China-based Voyah announced that it will launch an international all-electric SUV called the Zhiyin next month. The Zhiyin was specifically developed for the global market, with two distinct front-end designs and several innovative technologies.

The Zhiyin will sport customizable OLED taillights, consisting of 33 individually controlled OLED units on both the upper and lower sections, creating unique light patterns. It is not clear whether this is optional, or whether it will come standard in all of the Zhiyin models. We assume that Yeolight is the OLED panel supplier, but we're not 100% sure.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 16,2024

Zeekr introduces its 2024 009 MPV, with two OLED displays

China-based EV maker Zeekr introduced the 2024 Zeekr 009 model, a 4/6/7 seater MPV. The new model has two OLED displays: a 15.05" 2.5K flexible OLED main front screen, and a 17" 90Hz 3K ceiling-mounted passenger screen. The 15.05" OLED display seems to be the same display used in the 2024 Zeekr 001 model.

The 2024 Zeekr 009 will feature several seating options, NAPPA leather seats with headrest speakers, ventilation, heating and massage functions, exclusive lounge-chair mode, 30-speaker sound system and high performance - it reach go from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and has a driving range of up to 740Km. Zeekr plans to start delivering the all-new Zeekr 009 to customers in China next week, starting at 439,000 RMB (around $60,000).

Read the full story Posted: Jul 24,2024

LG Display developed new tandem OLED technology to increase brightness and efficiency by 20%

According to a new report by Business Korea, LG Display is finalizing the development of its 3rd-gen tandem-stack automotive OLED technology, and aims to start mass producing these panels by 2026. LGD believes the new panels will improve the brightness and efficiency of its OLEDs by 20% (compared to its current 2nd-gen tandem OLEDs).

LG Display automotive OLED camp, 2023 iMID

LG Display believes it is leading the industry with its tandem OLED technology (and we tend to agree) and it hopes to accelerate its technology development to widen its lead. LG Display is enjoying a lead in the automotive display market with its OLED solutions and has already achieved design wins with many companies, including Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and GM.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 19,2024 - 4 comments

Is LG Display leading over Samsung Display with the quality and performance of its latest OLED?

Since Samsung started mass producing AMOLED displays in 2007, most people believe that the company is not only the leader in OLED production capacity, but also in the performance of its displays. In most cases, Samsung has been the first company to develop and manage to mass produce the most advanced OLED displays, and the first to adopt the latest OLED materials, architectures, and processes.

There are some signs that this could be changing, although honestly it's a bit too early to know. In May 2024, Apple launched its first OLED Tablets, and according to reports, Apple chose LG Display as its main supplier, ordering around 60% of its iPad OLEDs from LGD (with all of the 13" model orders going to LG), and the rest from Samsung. Later it was reported that Apple had to delay the introduction of its 2024 iPad Pro devices as Samsung faced low production yields and could not deliver displays in time.

Read the full story Posted: Jul 02,2024