According to data from Cinno Research, in 2022, MiniLED-equipped passenger cars in China accounted for 0.6% of total sales volume. In the first half of 2023, sales of MiniLED models have surged, showing a YoY increase of 1.3 times, now constituting 1.1% of total sales. Projections indicate that the global automotive market is expected to see around 400,000 MiniLED display applications shipped in 2023. Additionally, there is a growing presence of non-display MiniLED applications in the automotive sector, including decorative dashboard designs and car lights. With the emergence of new display scenarios like electronic rearview mirrors alongside existing ones such as traditional CIDs (central information displays) and information prompt screens, the MiniLED automotive application space is anticipated to expand significantly. By 2027, it is estimated that the number of MiniLED display applications will exceed 3.6 million pieces.
Electric vehicles have played a crucial role in driving the market for these new display products. In the Chinese market during the first half of 2023, Nio’s new models, namely Lili L7 and Lili L9, have garnered a market share exceeding 70%. Furthermore, the Nio ES series and ET7 models collectively contribute to nearly 20% of this market share.
While there are numerous display technologies deployed in the automotive sector – LTPS LCD, OLED, MinLED and MicroLED – current commercial use of MiniLED technology is finding a foothold in the market. It is, for the most part, as backlight technology as the cost of manufacturing a MiniLED display, much like MicroLED displays, is expensive. As such, MiniLED backlit displays are proving to be an increasingly used option because of the viewing angle, size, brightness, color gamut, lower cost and lower power consumption associated with the products.
While Korean companies like LG and Samsung have been touting their respective OLED automotive display design wins, Chinese manufacturers seem to be advocating for MiniLED backlit displays as a viable, and more effective, alternative, particularly for large CIDs, which seem to be the preferred choice of design in many luxury concept cars like the Cadillac Celestiq and Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX.
