LG Display's organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel plant in Guangzhou, China will be completed on Aug. 29.
The company plans to rapidly change its business structure from LCD panels to OLED panels as it is losing a price war with Chinese companies in the LCD business.
LG Display plans to produce 70-inch OLED panels beginning next year when mass production of large OLED panels stabilizes at the Guangzhou plant.
This year, the plant will mainly produce 55-inch and 65-inch OLED panels. It is expected to cut costs by introducing multi-model glass (MMG) technology. Next year, the plant will produce 77-inch OLED panels, which are currently being produced only at the 8.5-generation Paju plant in Korea. MMG technology will be applied to 77-inch OLED panels so that both 77-inch panels and 48-inch panels can be made from one mother glass. Market researcher IHS Markit expects the plant to produce 77-inch panels in the second quarter of next year.
Production of 77-inch OLED panels at the Guangzhou plant is expected to boost LG Electronics’ power in the 70-inch or larger TV market. Currently, the volume of 77-inch OLED panels produced at LG Display's Paju plant is not large. IHS Markets forecast that shipments of 77-inch OLED panels, which remained at only 27,000 units last year, soar to 60,000 units next year.
Meanwhile, consumers’ preference for large screen TVs is fueling a rapid growth of the market for 70-inch or larger ultra-large TVs. In 2018, the growth rate of 70- to 79-inch OLED TVs (378 percent in quantity and 216 percent in sales revenue) eclipsed that of 50- to 59-inch TVs (54 perc