Chinese TV set manufacturers including TCL, Hisense, Haier, and Konka showcased their admirable high-end display products at this year’s CES. Korean manufacturers feel great pressure from the rapid progress of Chinese manufacturers.

According to South Korean media reports, DSCC, a market research company, predicts that by 2025, the global market share of China’s top two flexible OLED display makers will overtake that of South Korea’s top two display makers.

In 2016, Samsung Display and LG Display accounted for 87% and 13% of the market share, respectively. However, Chinese display manufacturers have rapidly captured market share since 2019.

Last year, Samsung Display accounted for 60% of the market share, followed by LG Display (16%), BOE (15%), Visionox (3%) and Star Optoelectronics (2%). This year, the market share of BOE, LG and Samsung is estimated to reach 23%, 15% and 48%, respectively.

By 2022, the market share of BOE, Visionox and Star Optoelectronics are expected to reach 28%, 11% and 10% respectively, while the proportion of Tianma, Samsung and LG stands at 4%, 33% and 11%, respectively. By 2025, BOE and Star Optoelectronics are estimated to capture 30% and 12% of the market, respectively, while Samsung and LG will occupy a market share of 31% and 8%, respectively.

China has many leading smartphone manufacturers, such as Huawei and Xiaomi, which are inclined to adopt displays made by Chinese companies, according to South Korean media. If China overtakes South Korea in the flexible OLED and LCD market, South Korean display manufacturers may see great reduction in additional investment, and as a result lose competitiveness.

South Korean companies are taking a host of measures to maintain their leading position. For example, Samsung Display intends to release quantum dot displays in the high-end large-screen display market, and is stepping up investment in new display technologies such as Micro LED. LG Display aims to increase the sales of automotive displays to at least 2 trillion won (equivalent to 11.8 billion yuan) next year and make more profits from large-screen OLED business by opening a new plant in Guangzhou, China.

According to LEDinside, OLED panel added to the TV sets overwhelmingly beats the traditional LCD panel for its high contrast performance due to its self-luminous characteristics. The supply chain of OLED panels is basically dominated Korean factories. Both LCD panel manufacturers and brand TV manufacturers are exploring every possible mans to introduce new technologies to compete against OLED panels.