Taiwan Manufacturers Predicted to Win Nearly Half of the Global Automotive TFT-LCD Market

2014/10/16 | By Quincy Liang

Two major Taiwanese companies, Innolux Display Corp. and AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), the island's first- and second-largest supplier of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, respectively, are expected to win a 46% share of the global automotive-application display market thanks to their advantages in product innovation and competitive costs, according to Po Der-wei, a senior researcher at the domestic Topology Research Institute (TRi).

Global demand for TFT-LCD instrument clusters is forecast to surpass 100 million units in 2017, according to TRi, the largest private market research firm in Taiwan. (photo from the Internet)

Innolux has won a big-ticket order from a major American automaker, and this is expected to boost the firm's share of the global automotive panel market to more than 30%.

Po pointed out that AUO, Innolux, and another local TFT-LCD panel maker, Chunghwa Picture Tubes(CPT), have been vigorously developing automotive-application products, including 1.8-inch panels for heads-up displays (HUDs), 7-inch WVGAs (with 400x800 and 400x864 pixel resolution) for rear-seat infotainment, and 12.1- and 12.3-inch products for instrument panels.

With its aggressive development of automotive applications, Innolux now controls more than 20% of the global market in the segment, and AUO chalked up a 30% increase in automotive-panel shipments in 2014. CPT said that its automotive panel shipments are expected to increase 20% to 30% next year and account for about 20% of its overall revenue.

Industry sources noted that international automakers have been streamlining their supply chains by reducing the number of their suppliers; and all major American and European car manufacturers making in-car displays standard equipment on all makes and models, automotive TFT-LCD panels have evolved from custom-made products into a standard item.

Po explained that Taiwanese panel suppliers enjoy unmatched advantages in cost control and production flexibility, winning them the leading position in the China market and an increasingly important role in Japan, one of the world's most important auto production nations (though mainly in the aftermarket, so far).

All signs indicate that Taiwanese automotive-panel suppliers will continue to win a higher share of the international market, Po concluded.