Samsung Display (SDC) will, for the first time ever, supply main automotive displays to Hyundai Motor, which is expected to further deepen the future vehicle alliance between Samsung Electronics and Hyundai and extend their cooperation into the vehicle electrification and intelligence field, according to Korean media reports.
ET News, citing Korean auto industry sources, recently reported that Hyundai has selected SDC as the final supplier in the tender for the main display of its new-generation flagship model Genesis. Hyundai is expected to purchase a 25-inch OLED display with a wider horizontal orientation from SDC, and will adopt an OLED panel extending from the front of the driver seat to the center console, which will be installed in the new Genesis model to be released in 2-3 years.
In 2021, Hyundai adopted SDC's OLED panel in its Ioniq5 model, but it was used for the rear-view monitor, showing road conditions through the camera instead of traditional mirror reflection. Accordingly, once the latest deal starts to be fulfilled, it will be the first time for Hyundai to equip Samsung's OLED panels on the main display system of its cars.
Industry sources said the upcoming OLED display supply will be the starting point for Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun to deepen their future vehicle alliance.
Actually, the two companies had maintained a tense rivalry for a long time after Samsung forayed into the car business in the 1990s. For instance, the sources noted, Hyundai originally relied on the US-based Harman International Industries for the supply of infotainment automotive audio systems, but switched to other suppliers such as LG Electronics and BOSE after Samsung acquired Harman in 2017.
But the relationship between the two companies began to change following a brief meeting in 2020 between Hyundai's Chung and Samsung's Lee, with the former starting to adopt Semco's camera modules and SDC's OLED panels. Their latest cooperation deal on the core display panels for flagship car models is particularly drawing market attention, the sources continued.
According to industry analysis, with the development of electrical and autonomous vehicles gaining momentum, Samsung and Hyundai share the belief that their cooperation will bring greater benefits for both parties and thus they have to drop past contradictions and enhance cooperation. As such, it is expected that the fields of cooperation between the two companies will be more diversified in the future, including even the semiconductor sector.
Article translated by Willis Ke
