Receiving this award signifies that a manufacturer has managed to meet all the demands of one of the world’s largest car makers, GM. This recognition may help strengthen LG’s reputation within the industry, potentially leading to more business opportunities and collaborations.
The 31st Annual General Motors (GM) Supplier of the Year Award took place in Texas last week. LG Electronics (LG) was recognized for its achievements in infotainment and telematics. The collaboration between LG and GM began in 2006 when GM selected LG’s telematics control module for its OnStar service. More recently, LG also made significant contributions to the 2021 New Cadillac Escalade by providing the world’s first digital cockpit with P-OLED automotive displays.
What We Say
It hasn’t been all plain sailing for LG in the automotive industry. LG Display is still set to supply a 30-inch OLED panel to electric car manufacturer Lucid, but production isn’t expected to begin in the fourth quarter. The timeline was delayed due to Lucid’s financial difficulties which may be an ongoing issue. The OLED panel for Lucid features a two-stack tandem model with two layers of red, green, and blue emission layers, differing from their existing models that use 34-inch liquid crystal displays.
In 2021, LG Display provided OLED and LCD panels for the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan. The South Korean company is also developing OLED panels in collaboration with Porsche and other premium car brands.
As for GM, a range of suppliers from various sectors in the automotive industry, such as tire manufacturers, electronic components providers, and powertrain systems developers usually end up winning this award. The award reflects what happened in 2022 between LG and GM, and while there is not much evidence of direct business consequences from winning it, there is a very clear knock-on effect that other past winners have noticed as favored supplier. Therefore, this is a pretty significant public relations win for LG and worth a lot more to its ambitions in the automotive sector than a few press releases or marketing promotions.
The only note of caution is that GM was knocked off its perch as the world’s largest car maker back in 2011, falling behind Toyota and Volkswagen (VW), and it has seen a somewhat steady decline since then as a major power.
