On May 7, Apple and Huawei, the two giants of the technology industry, released new products on the same day, which attracted widespread attention inside and outside the industry. This hard-nosed showdown not only shows the strength of the two sides in the field of smart terminals, but also reflects the fierce competition between China and South Korea in the panel industry.
A new pattern of panel industry
Behind this press conference, the rise of Chinese panel manufacturers is rewriting the pattern of the global panel industry. In the past few years, with the strong support of national policies and the promotion of the domestic demand market, China's panel enterprises have developed rapidly, and their production capacity and market share have continued to rise.
BOE, Huaxing Optoelectronics and other Chinese panel leaders have surpassed established manufacturers such as Samsung and LG in South Korea and become the world's largest panel suppliers through continuous expansion of production lines and increased investment. Data shows that in 2023, the global shipment share of Chinese mainland panel manufacturers will reach 45.8%, accounting for nearly half of the market.
In the face of the pressure of Chinese manufacturers, South Korean companies are also accelerating the layout of a new generation of OLED panels. Samsung Display announced an investment of more than $20 billion to build an 8.6 generation OLED panel production line to deal with Chinese competitors. BOE also followed suit, announcing an investment of 63 billion yuan in Chengdu to build the first 8.6 generation OLED production line in China.
This marks a new round of competition between Chinese and South Korean panel companies in the IT field such as tablets and notebooks. In the next few years, with the commissioning of high-generation OLED production lines, the supply capacity of Chinese panel manufacturers is expected to surpass that of South Korea and become the most important large-size panel supplier.
The battle for technical routes
In addition to the production capacity competition, Chinese and South Korean panel companies also have differences in the choice of technical routes. South Korean manufacturers such as Samsung are sticking to the OLED technology route, while Chinese manufacturers are exploring emerging technology routes such as printed OLED to reduce manufacturing costs.
Although OLED panels have the advantages of self-illumination and high contrast, the manufacturing process is complex, the yield is low, and the cost is high, which has become a bottleneck for its large-scale application. Printed OLED is expected to reduce manufacturing costs and improve yields, and is expected to become an alternative to OLED panels.
The choice of technical route will directly affect the capacity investment decision of panel manufacturers. If a breakthrough is made in printed OLED, then the existing OLED production line will face the risk of being marginalized. On the contrary, if OLED technology is dominant, then manufacturers who invest in printed OLED will fall into passivity.
Industrial chain game
The panel industry chain is long, there are many links, and the professional division of labor is clear, and the development of upstream and downstream enterprises is closely related. In the competition between Chinese and South Korean panel companies, upstream materials, equipment and other links are also competing fiercely.
Taking OLED panel materials as an example, Korean manufacturers currently occupy a dominant position. However, in recent years, Chinese companies have been catching up rapidly in the fields of light-emitting materials and polarizers, which is expected to break the monopoly of Korean companies. The localization of upstream materials will further enhance the competitiveness of Chinese panel manufacturers.
Equipment manufacturers are also speeding up the localization process of OLED equipment to escort the capacity expansion of Chinese panel manufacturers. Leading enterprises such as BOE and Huaxing Optoelectronics have joined hands with upstream and downstream enterprises to deal with the monopoly of South Korean panels, and are expected to share greater benefits in the new round of panel upward cycle.
The market has broad prospects
What promotes the expansion of production capacity of Chinese and South Korean panel companies is the broad prospect of the downstream terminal market. The rapid growth of emerging markets such as folding screen mobile phones and OLED laptops has opened up a new track for panel manufacturers.
The data shows that the current penetration rate of OLED panels used in mobile phones has exceeded 50%, but the OLED penetration rate of IT products such as laptops and tablets is still about 2%, with great potential. With the launch of OLED tablets and notebooks by Apple and other manufacturers, the application of OLED in the IT field will accelerate its popularity.
The demand for large-size OLED panels in the traditional TV market is also being released. OLEDThe high-end positioning and excellent picture quality of TVs have attracted the favor of many consumers. The industry expects that the penetration rate of OLED TVs will further increase in the next few years.
The pull of downstream demand will continue to push panel manufacturers to expand OLED production capacity. In this capacity competition, panel companies in China and South Korea will strive to seize the opportunity and seize a larger market share during the critical period.