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).

    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 many believe this will be one of the first markets to adopt the next generation lighting technology. 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.

    OLED-Info's Automotive OLEDs Market Report

    If you're interested in this market, check out our market report on Automotive OLEDs. The report discusses the current OLED display and lighting automotive markets, with a complete list of OLED display and lighting makers that are involved with the automotive market, with personal contact details. Our market report is updated quarterly.

    The OLED Automotive Market Report explains:

    • What kind of OLED displays are currently adopted in cars
    • Why OLED lighting is exciting for car makers
    • The future of Automotive OLED display
    • OLED concepts and forecasts by BMW, Audi and others

    Read more here!

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    The latest automotive OLED news:

    Nio announces its latest flagship sedan EV, the ET9, with two AMOLED displays

    China's EV car producer Nio announced its latest flagship executive electric sedan, the ET9. The car adopts several new technologies, in areas such as self-driving, sensing, first-class airline seats (it has a four-seat configuration) and more. Nio will ship the first ET9 cars in the first quarter of 2025.


    According to reports, the ET9 has two AMOLED displays. The main multimedia front-seat display  is a 15.6" AMOLED display. For the passengers, there's a central 14.5" AMOLED display (between the two seats, see image above). We do not have more details on these OLED displays yet.

    Read the full story Posted: Dec 25,2023

    Yeolight demonstrates new automotive OLED lighting prototypes

    China-based Yeolight demonstrated new OLED lighting taillights designs at the Automotive Lighting Exhibition in Shanghai. In the video below you can see some of the various prototypes:

    And in the photos below you can see some others. These are interesting prototypes. Some of these have been developed in collaboration with automotive makers, for example Geely-owned Zeekr.

    Read the full story Posted: Oct 14,2023

    TrendForce: the market share of OLED automotive panels to increase to 8.9% by 2026

    TrendForce says that the demand for automotive displays is stabilizing, and the company expects modest growth ahead. By 2026, the global automotive display market will surpass 240 million units. 

    TrendForce further sees an increased adoption of automotive OLED displays, and the market share of OLED panels will reach 8.9% by 2026. Demand for standard OLED displays is on the rise, and OLED makers are developing next-generation high-end automotive displays, including rollable, transparent and ultra-large panels.

    Read the full story Posted: Sep 26,2023

    DSCC: the OLED market will decline 13% in 2023, growth to resume in 2024

    DSCC estimates that OLED revenues in 2023 will be $36.1 billion - down 13% from last year. Just a few months ago DSCC's forecast for 2023 was $38.9 billion. This is the second year that the OLED market is contracting. In terms of shipments, there will be a 5% decrease in 2023. Looking forward to 2024, DSCC sees the market starting to recover, as demand for IT displays, TVs and smartphones will increase.

    Looking at specific markets in 2023, DSCC says that OLED smartphone shipments will remain flat, but will drop 11% in revenues - as the demand for higher-end flexible displays is lower than in 2022. The only positive is the foldable display market, where shipments will increase 33% in 2023 compared to last year. 2023 also experiences a big drop in demand for OLED TVs - DSCC sees shipments declining 31% in 2023. The same goes for laptop OLEDs - a 32% decrease in sales in 2023.

    Read the full story Posted: Sep 19,2023

    OLED-Info updates its Automotive OLED Market Report

    Today we published a new edition of our Automotive OLED Market Report, with all the latest information. The new edition includes new car models with OLED displays and lighting, and updates from several companies, including LG's new automotive OLED strategy. The adoption of OLED technologies by the automotive is accelerating and expected to continue in the future.

    Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

    • OLED advantages and challenges
    • PMOLED and AMOLED displays adopted in cars today
    • Why OLED lighting is exciting for car makers
    • All about flexible and transparent OLEDs

    The report package also provides:

    • A directory of all OLED automotive display makers
    • OLED lighting roadmaps
    • Personal contact details into leading OLED produces
    • Car concepts with OLED technologies
    • Free updates for a year

    This OLED Automotive market report provides a great introduction to OLED display and lighting solutions for the automotive industry. This is a great guide for anyone involved with the automotive market - car makers, suppliers and aftermarket solutions.

    Read the full story Posted: Sep 18,2023

    Audi's 2024 Q8 SUV to sport OLED taillights

    Audi has unveiled the 2024 Q8 (and SQ8) SUV, which will sport OLED taillights, similar to the ones used in the 2022 Audi A8. These digital taillight OLEDs are supplied by OLEDWorks.

    Audi recently announced that the 2024 Audi Q6 e-tron will come with its its second-gen OLED taillight technology, with 360 individual OLED panels built into 6 different lighting panels. The Q8 will likely use Audi's first-gen design, as it is said to be similar the the 2022 A8. The Q6 e-tron will also sport an AMOLED display in the dashboard

    Read the full story Posted: Sep 07,2023

    Audi's 2024 Q6 e-tron to sport a main AMOLED display

    Audi unveiled the interior design of it upcoming 2024 Q6 e-tron EV SUV. The car will have three displays: A main 14.5" multimedia display, a 11.9" virtual instrument cluster and a 10.9" passenger display. There are conflicting reports, but it seems that at least one of these displays will be an OLED (and maybe all of them, we do not know yet).

    The Q6 e-tron will also feature Audi's second-gen OLED taillight technology, that use a total of 360 individual OLED panels built into 6 different lighting panels (The OLEDs are likely produced by OLEDWorks, like all of Audi's recent OLED panels.

    Read the full story Posted: Sep 04,2023

    LG Display reveals its automotive display strategy and its latest OLED customers

    LG Display detailed its latest automotive display strategy. The company is now offering three product family. For luxury flagship cars (over $80,000 in cost), the company is offering its P-OLED flexible panels, that offer high performance coupled with design freedom.

    For premium cars ($50,000 - $80,000) the company offers rigid OLEDs, that offer high image quality and a tandem OLED architecture for increased efficiency and lifetime. These displays are lower in cost compared to LG's P-OLEDs, and LG brands these as ATO (Advanced Thin OLEDs) as they adopt TFE encapsulation over a glass substrate. For mass market cars ($30,000 - $50,000) LGD offers LTPS LCDs.

    Read the full story Posted: Sep 02,2023

    LG Display strenghten its premium automotive display partnership with Mercedes-Benz

    LG Display announced that it is strengthening its partnership and collaboration with Mercedes-Benz. The two companies started working together in 2004, and since then the German carmaker has been applying cutting-edge automotive displays from LGD to its luxury vehicles.

    Mercedes has been applying LGD's OLEDs for several years, and so it is not clear what will now change, but it is likely that we'll see more Mercedes models adopting high-end displays from LGD, mostly OLEDs. The Mercedes EQE 2022, for example, uses either a 12.8-inch AMOLED or (optionally) Mercedes' MBUX Hyperscreen, a 56-inch display, actually made from three different OLED units, embedded in a single glass display. There's a central 17.7-inch panel plus two 12.3-inch panels. The 56-inch glass also includes holes for the air-vents which are integrated into the display.

    Read the full story Posted: Aug 24,2023

    LG Display demonstrated its 30" and 77" transparent OLED displays for the first time

    LG Display is demonstrating its new 30" and 77" transparent OLED displays for the first time, at the company's booth at K-Display 2023, in Seoul, Korea.

    Credit: LG Display

    The new 30" transparent OLED offers HD resolution, while the 77" panel offers 4K resolution. All of LG's latest transparent OLED displays offer 45% transparency. LG showed its entire range of T-OLED displays in a coffee shop setting, in partnership with Starbucks.

    Read the full story Posted: Aug 18,2023