The display panel is an important component that allows people to view images. With the rapid development of China’s economy and society, the role of information display technology in people’s social activities and daily lives has continued to increase. People’s access to information mainly comes from visual perception, and the interaction between various information system terminal devices and people needs to be realized through information display. Driven by strong market demand and industry transformation and upgrading, display panels have gradually become the leader of the optoelectronic industry, ranking second only to the microelectronics industry in the information industry, becoming one of the most important industries.

The display panel industry chain covers a wide range, with upstream key supporting materials including glass substrates, optical films, liquid crystal materials, polarizers, and filters. Among them, the localization rate of glass substrates and polarizers is relatively low, presenting a broad space for domestic substitution; the midstream mainly consists of domestic and foreign panel manufacturers. Currently, companies like BOE and Huaxing Optoelectronics have occupied a major market share in the global display panel market, becoming leading panel companies worldwide; downstream applications are mainly in televisions, computers, mobile phones, and automotive displays, with overall demand continuously expanding.

In the display panel industry, the most mainstream displays at this stage are mainly LCD and OLED, with mainstream technologies including TFT-LCD and AMOLED display technologies. As a traditional display technology, LCD panels are greatly affected by the inventory cycle of downstream manufacturers; OLED, as the third-generation display technology, has become the standard for flagship and mid-to-high-end mobile phones, with its shipment share in the TV sector also continuously increasing. In addition, technologies such as Mini LED and Micro LED are gradually emerging. Compared to the currently mainstream LCD and OLED display technologies, Mini LED and similar technologies excel in response time, contrast, and lifespan. However, due to the difficulty of production, they have not yet achieved widespread popularity. In the future, with the continuous improvement of production processes, Mini LED and similar technologies will gradually become the mainstream direction of development.

Related Report: The “2023-2029 China Display Panel Industry Market Status Investigation and Investment Prospect Evaluation Report” published by Zhiyan Consulting.

China entered the display panel industry in the early 1980s and began to industrialize new display panels in 2005. As a key industry supported by the country, the government has successively issued multiple policies to support the development of China’s display panel industry. Major manufacturers, with government funding, actively expanded their factory scale and sales, achieving market scale expansion through mergers and reorganizations. In addition, several key display panel manufacturers in South Korea, such as LG Display and Samsung Display, have announced the gradual termination of LCD panel production, providing ample market space for Chinese LCD manufacturers and promoting the rapid increase of Chinese display panel manufacturers’ products in international market share.

Currently, with the support of policies and funding, China has become the world’s largest LCD panel supply market. According to statistics, in 2017, China’s panel production capacity accounted for about 34% of the global total capacity, and it is expected that by 2022, China’s panel production capacity will reach 56%. Chinese display panel manufacturers continue to promote production line construction, driving continuous growth in production capacity. In the medium to long term, the market share of products in mainland China will further increase.

TFT-LCD display panels are currently the most mainstream display panels globally due to their advantages of low operating voltage, good anti-interference, mature technology, low power consumption, and high resolution. The supply of production capacity is relatively sufficient. With the accelerated launch of LCD panel production lines by South Korean manufacturers and the halt of production line expansion by manufacturers in Taiwan and Japan, the global production of LCD display panels saw a decline in 2022. According to CINNO data, the global shipment volume of desktop monitor panels fell by 8% year-on-year in 2022, and the shipment volume of LCD driver chips for global desktop monitors decreased by about 11% year-on-year. In contrast, in the domestic market, as the domestic epidemic was effectively controlled, market demand gradually recovered, and product output steadily increased. The shipment share of mainland Chinese panel manufacturers in the global display panel market increased from 48.6% in 2021 to 56.6% in 2022.

In the segmented field, major manufacturers have been continuously strengthening their market exploration of high-end displays in recent years, such as improving gaming and office experience with high refresh rates, high contrast, and high-resolution models, which are constantly enhancing the display quality. As the market share of mainland Chinese panel manufacturers in the global desktop monitor market continues to rise, the localization process of LCD driver chips for desktop monitors is also advancing, helping major domestic panel manufacturers continuously enhance their influence internationally. In 2022, the top three manufacturers in mainland China were Novatek, Qisda, and Tongrui Micro, with a combined market share of about 65%.

Mini LED is mainly used in backlighting and direct display fields and is an important technological upgrade track for traditional LCD display technology. The addition of Mini LED backlight technology significantly enhances LCD performance. Since 2019, manufacturers such as BOE, TCL, Innolux, and AUO have launched various application prototypes of Mini LED, with small-scale mass production, including 27-75 inch Mini LED backlight displays, TVs, and gaming laptop panels. Foreign companies such as Apple, Samsung, and LGD are also actively investing in Mini LED production projects.

Since 2021, China’s Mini LED backlight module has rapidly developed in the large-size module field, with the market scale continuing to grow. In 2021, the market scale of China’s large-size Mini LED backlight modules was about 13.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 773%. The market scale of medium-size backlight modules was 5.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 193%. It is expected that by 2023, the market scale of China’s large-size Mini LED backlight modules will reach about 52 billion yuan, and the market scale of medium-size backlight modules will reach about 19 billion yuan. The rapid development of Mini LED backlight technology will continue to drive the progress of traditional LCD display technology and promote the steady development of China’s display panel industry.

OLED display, as the third-generation display technology, is currently in a rapid development stage due to its characteristics of strong flexibility, no blemishes, lightweight, and wide viewing angle. Major manufacturers are continuously increasing their investment in it, and the supply capacity has significantly increased, making OLED display technology increasingly widely used in TVs, computers, mobile phones, and tablets. The preparation of OLED display technology requires a very high technical level, mainly divided into front-end and back-end processes. The front-end process is mainly based on photolithography and evaporation technology, while the back-end process mainly involves packaging and cutting technology.

Although advanced OLED technology is mainly held by Samsung and LG manufacturers, several domestic manufacturers are also continuously strengthening their research on OLED screens, including Huaxing Optoelectronics, BOE, and Tianma Technology, all of which are increasing their R&D investment in OLED and applying OLED technology to some products. The domestic OLED display technology is developing rapidly. During the period from 2017 to 2021, the market scale of OLED in China maintained steady growth, and it is expected that by 2022, the market scale of OLED in China will reach about 43 billion yuan.

1. Large Size

In the large size field, liquid crystal panels are the main application market for China’s display panels. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of residents’ living standards, the application demand for televisions has gradually diversified. Consumers’ demand for display effects in movies and games continues to grow, driving the shipment volume and average size of televisions to rise continuously. According to statistics, the average size of television panels was about 41.4 inches in 2014, and it is expected that the average size of television panels will reach 50.8 inches by 2022.

During the period from 2018 to 2021, the global shipment volume of liquid crystal television panels saw a significant decline in 2020. Subsequently, based on the effective control of the epidemic, major manufacturers gradually resumed production, and shipment volumes steadily recovered. In 2021, the global shipment volume of liquid crystal television panels reached a total of 275 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 2.23%. It is expected that by 2023, the global shipment volume of liquid crystal television panels will return to pre-epidemic levels, reaching about 287 million pieces.

2. Medium Size

Due to the impact of the epidemic, the frequency of working from home and online classes has increased, leading to rapid development of the home economy. As electronic tools used for work or study, the shipment volume of laptops and tablets has rapidly increased, driving the continuous growth of LCD shipments for laptops and tablets. In 2020, the global LCD shipment volume for tablets increased by 10.01% year-on-year. As the epidemic is effectively controlled and the economy gradually recovers, various policies have been introduced by the government to stimulate consumption growth and increase market demand, driving the steady growth of LCD shipments. It is expected that by 2023, the global LCD shipment volume for tablets will reach about 144 million units.

3. Small Size

In the small size panel field, display panels are mainly applied in the smartphone sector. From 2017 to 2022, the overall shipment volume of smartphones in China showed a downward trend, with the total shipment volume in 2022 being about 286 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 13.2%, marking the largest decline ever. The main reason is the saturation of the domestic smartphone market, lengthening replacement cycles, and continuous advancements in production processes leading to improved product quality, resulting in a continuous decline in smartphone shipment volumes in China. In terms of global shipments of smartphone LCD panels, the overall trend is also declining, and it is expected that by 2023, the global shipment volume of smartphone LCD panels will be 653 million pieces.