Posts

Accelerating competition in the development of next-generation HUD display products with Micro-LED technology

This year, companies are engaged in intense competition to develop Micro-LED HUD products for automotive use at display exhibitions such as CES, Touch Taiwan, and SID. Major panel manufacturers such as AUO and Innolux in Taiwan, and BOE, TCL CSOT, and Tianma in China have unveiled a host of new products. These companies are the main suppliers of LCD HUD products.

AUO exhibited a 13-inch micro LED AR HUD, while Innolux’s CarUX implemented a HUD on the windshield using a 9.6-inch Micro-LED reflective display solution with 9.6-inch Micro- LED.

AUO-13”-AR-HUD

AUO 13” AR HUD

BOE showcased two HUD display solutions at SID. One is a 6.2-inch (624×360) RGB Micro-LED HUD, and the other is a monochrome Micro-LED HUD achieving up to 30,000 nits. TCL CSOT unveiled a 14.3-inch (1700 x 650) Micro-LED PHUD, while Tianma showcased an 8-inch (1204×608) HUD.

BOE-6.2”-HUD

BOE 6.2” HUD

TCL-14.3”-HUD

TCL 14.3” HUD

Tianma-8”-HUD

Tianma 8” HUD

These products achieve high resolution and high contrast ratios based on the advantages of Micro-LEDs, offering differentiation and the potential to replace existing LCOS products. As a result, panel manufacturers are engaging in intense competition to secure a technological lead in the market.

According to UBI Research’s “2025 Automotive Display Technology and Industry Trend Analysis Report,” this year’s vehicle display shipments are expected to exceed 240 million units, with Mini-LED and OLED panels gradually increasing. As competing technologies, companies are actively developing differentiated technologies applied to Micro-LED HUD products.

In summary, automotive displays are one of the key areas of the future display market. As the importance of displays has grown as a key differentiating factor in smart cars, the automotive display market will become an essential competitive arena for panel manufacturers. In other words, with the smart evolution of vehicles, HUDs will become mainstream, and companies will need to respond and compete accordingly.

Namdeog Kim, Senior Analyst at UBI Research(ndkim@ubiresearch.com)

▶2025 Automotive Display Technology and Industry Trends Analysis Report

Absolute Requirements for the Automotive OLED Display’s Success

On October 15, in IMID Exhibition Business Forum held in Korea International Exhibition Center (October 14-16), KATECH (Korea Automotive Technology Institute)’s head of Intelligent Control System R&D Center Dr. Inbeom Yang presented ‘Future of Automotive Technology and the Role of Smart Display’ and forecast the future of automotive display.

 

Dr. Yang revealed that “if existing vehicles focused on technological factors, future vehicles will evolve entirely centering on the driver, and the automotive display also will develop following this trend”. He also added that the driver’s safety and convenience have to be the priority.

 

Dr. Yang gave 4 examples of future automotive display. Firstly, he discussed ADAS and their flaws. ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) help the driver to operate the vehicle safely. If ADAS can be actualized through displays such as HUD (head-up display), the driver’s safety can be maintained with ease.

 

The second item mentioned was a function that notifies the driver status reports linked with time and location. Dr. Yang reported that a device needs to be developed that can function in specific situations with sensors and sounds as well as on display.

 

Dr. Yang forecast that if display, touch technology, and haptic technology are combined and applied to vehicles, operation and feedback will be simpler for the driver. He announced that multi-functional & configuration display will also be introduced which will allow driver to recognize and control.

 

Audi’s concept vehicle that was presented in IAA 2015 Audi e-tron quattro has full OLED interface and all functions required for the vehicle operation can be controlled via touch display without physical buttons.

 

As futuristic displays such as these are developed that increases driver’s convenience, the proportion of display within a vehicle is expected to increase, and developed focusing on the driver centered UI (user interface). OLED Display can maximize the driver’s accuracy with fast response rate and high contrast ratio. Along with safety, and design freedom that comes with flexibility, it is suitable for automotive display. However, the linkage with the UI system optimized for the driver is essential rather than performance of the display panel itself; collaboration between display panel companies, and automotive system and peripheral companies is expected to be a major point in early market occupancy between automotive display panel companies.

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quattro ,Geneva International Motor Show