Exclusive research | Breaking 1 million units, vehicle-mounted Mini LED ushering in a golden climbing period

Experts say that Reseach data shows that the Mini LED backlight industry will continue to develop strongly in 2025: the TV market penetration rate is steadily increasing, and the parallel advancement of RGB and SQD will continue to reshape the high-end display landscape; the automotive market is accelerating and has become a new engine for industry growth. The following two major data can be reflected:

Judging from the latest financial report performance of the supply chain, companies that have forward-looking layout of the automotive industry chain have taken the lead in realizing performance, demonstrating excellent growth resilience and anti-cyclical capabilities.

Judging from the sales trend of models equipped with Mini LED technology, there is a clear exponential growth: from only 64,000 units in 2022, it has exceeded the million mark and reached 1.001 million units in 2025, mainly due to the strong drive of new energy brands such as Xiaomi, Ideal, Jikrypton, and NIO. As of March 2026, sales for the year have reached close to 235,000 vehicles. With the decentralization of technology and the continuous introduction of new cars, market expansion is still accelerating.

As the competition for smart new energy vehicles enters the second half, in-vehicle display, as the core port for human-computer interaction in smart cockpits, is ushering in a wave of technological iterations led by Mini LED.

Recently, experts say that the white paper team has conducted in-depth research on 7 core companies in the industry chain, and the comprehensive analysis believes that 2026 will be a critical turning point for the large-scale implementation of Mini LED backlight technology in the automotive field. The current track mainly shows three characteristics: accelerated penetration, expected differentiation, and ecological reshaping.

1) The upgrade of smart cockpit experience has become the key to differentiated competition among car companies. Under the rigid demand for large-screen, multi-screen, and high-definition screens, Mini LED accurately meets the strict standards of automotive regulations by virtue of its technical advantages such as high contrast, high reliability, and fine regional dimming. At present, this technology has been decentralized from high-end models to the mainstream mid-to-high-end price range of 200,000 to 450,000 yuan, and is accelerating its penetration into mid-to-low-end models. The market path is becoming increasingly clear and the certainty is significantly enhanced.

2) Despite the broad long-term prospects, cost control is still a key variable that determines the speed of popularization. The industrial chain presents different prediction perspectives: some companies are optimistic and expect costs to fall by 10%-20% in 2026; others believe that fluctuations in upstream raw material prices may bring upward pressure on costs, and they need to continue to pay attention to the stability of the supply chain.

3) Faced with the dual challenges of cost and technology, the industrial chain collaboration model is undergoing a qualitative leap. A single "production capacity package" is no longer able to meet the needs of high-end vehicle specifications, and "technological joint research" is becoming the new normal in the industry. Through deep binding, upstream and downstream enterprises carry out full-link collaborative optimization from chip design, backplane drivers to optical diaphragms, aiming to reduce costs and increase efficiency through underlying technological innovation.

Some companies’ opinions are as follows:

■ Ruifeng Optoelectronics

Benefiting from the demand driven by automotive and other applications, Ruifeng Optoelectronics’ sales revenue of automotive LED and automotive backlight will achieve substantial growth in 2025.

We believe that Mini LED will continue to deepen its penetration in the automotive field and continue to increase market share and technological leadership. In 2026, the cost of Mini LED products in the automotive field is expected to drop by less than 10%. This is mainly due to the fact that technology iteration and core component optimization have become more reasonable in the past three years. The synergistic cost reduction effect of all links in the superimposed industrial chain continues to appear. The full-chain cost control system from materials, manufacturing to application has basically formed a closed loop, jointly promoting a steady downward trend in costs. During the same period, the application volume of Mini LED in automotive scenarios will continue to double. On the one hand, the continued release of technological advantages, improved user experience and lower costs have increased the popularity of products; on the other hand, the growing demand for high-definition displays in vehicle-mounted smart cockpits has driven the rapid popularization of Mini LED technology.

In the future, Ruifeng Optoelectronics will take technological leadership as its leading role, rely on its quality-price ratio advantage over international major manufacturers, accelerate product certification and mass production introduction, and break through vehicle certification and OEM customer barriers.

■ Jinko Electronics

The automotive Mini LED backlight market is ushering in a golden period of penetration rate, which not only builds a moat for structural growth for the company, but also opens up the imagination of the future market. As end-customer mass production projects ramp up, the company's sales of automotive-grade devices and modules have achieved a significant jump. Looking forward to the future, with the landing of new customers and the large-scale mass production of projects under development, Jinko Electronics is expected to enter the fast lane of performance growth.

According to its 2025 financial report, Jinko Electronics has strategically focused on the incremental market of autonomous driving and smart cockpits in the automotive smart vision product segment, and has developed a series of smart car lights and vehicle display core components and technologies, including 10,000-level high-pixel high-definition (HD) smart projection headlight systems based on Micro LED, platform-based headlight ADB lens modules, and new vehicle display backlight LED devices and modules.

■ Xinruida

Mini vehicle backlight technology will accelerate its penetration into the automotive market in 2026 and will be extended to mid- to low-end models.

With the scale effect brought about by large-scale application in consumer electronics markets such as TVs and monitors, the cost of Mini LED chips and backlight modules will decrease at an annual rate of 15%-20%, providing an economic basis for downward penetration. at the same time. "Experience decentralization" has become a core selling point. In the fierce competition for electric vehicles, smart cockpit experience has become the key to differentiation. In order to enhance competitiveness, mid- to low-end models will use "high-definition multi-screen" as the core configuration. Mini LED backlight will become one of the first technology choices for "high-end experience", with priority being used for the main driving instrument and central control screen. Driven by competition in the supply chain, panel and Tier 1 suppliers in the second and third tiers are seeking breakthroughs and will proactively promote more cost-effective Mini LED solutions into the mid- to low-end market supply chain to accelerate technology popularization.

In 2026, Xinruida will rely on Mini LED technology and use "Japanese certification" as the fulcrum to expand the automotive market. Through deepening cooperation and entering new customers through multiple paths, Xinruida will focus on related fields and promote automotive display to become the company's second growth point. Based on this, this year we will focus on promoting large-angle, high-power RGB backlight solutions, mid- to low-end optical integrated LED designs, and ultra-thin automotive Mini backlight optical solutions to better coordinate with market development.

■ Zhaochi Co., Ltd.

The intelligent upgrade of automobiles has led to an explosion in demand for in-vehicle displays. Central control, entertainment and other scenes have increased requirements for high-zoning and high-reliability displays, and the penetration rate of in-vehicle Mini LED backlights has further increased.

Zhaochi’s automotive business currently accounts for a small proportion of revenue, but it has strong growth momentum. It has achieved indirect supply to Volkswagen and SAIC, and has become an important starting point for the company to shift from stock competition to incremental breakthroughs. At the same time, automotive Mini LED backlight technology has high technical barriers and large profit margins, which is in line with the company’s overall strategy of stabilizing the basic market and developing high-end markets, and is conducive to significantly improving overall profitability. This year, the company will focus on promoting in-vehicle Mini COB/POB backlight products. Relying on the accumulated supply experience of Volkswagen and SAIC, the product has strong adaptability to scenes and can meet the needs of automobile intelligent upgrades.

■ Nationstar Optoelectronics

Car Mini backlight continues to penetrate. The main reason is the upgraded demand for in-vehicle displays. New energy vehicles come standard with large-size central control screens and heads-up displays (HUDs). The high brightness, high contrast, and high reliability of Mini LED backlights are suitable for the harsh automotive environment. Some mid-to-high-end car companies have begun mass production of models equipped with Mini LED backlights.

In addition, bulk raw materials continue to rise, and the overall price of backlight products increases. Since the second half of 2025, the cost of precious metals and semiconductor materials has soared, and some chip manufacturers have collectively increased prices, resulting in Mini LED backlight BOM costs being under pressure. White light mini COB products have entered a period of explosive demand, and the number of cases on the market will increase year by year; blue light mini COB technology has entered a technical reserve period, and its application time may be advanced.

In 2026, while consolidating the fundamentals of the high-end TV market, Nationstar Optoelectronics will strive to seize the strategic high ground of automotive Mini LED and build a long-term technology moat and profitability resilience through a dual-track development model. The core reason for this plan is that the two major application scenarios of TV and automotive have strong market complementarity and technical synergy: the TV application scenario is large-scale and has rapid technology iteration, and is a key carrier of brand influence and technology verification, while the automotive application scenario has a high growth rate and better profit margins, which can provide long-term growth support for the company; at the same time, Mini LED can share core underlying technologies such as high-zoning light control algorithms, low-power drive architecture, and reliability design in the two scenarios.

In 2026, Nationstar's specific goal in the automotive field is to improve its Mini LED manufacturing process capabilities and develop Mini LED products with large angles, uniform light emission, and cost-effectiveness.

■ Hanbo High-tech

The penetration rate of Mini LED backlight in the field of vehicle display will explode, and it will become a mainstream configuration in mid-to-high-end smart cars with prices ranging from 200,000 to 450,000 yuan. The core driving force is the evolution of smart cockpits. In-vehicle displays are developing towards larger screens, which places high demands on displays. Mini LED backlight characteristics meet in-vehicle needs. At present, this technology has covered hundreds of thousands of mid-to-high-end models. In 2026, as the competition of new energy vehicles focuses on smart cockpit experience, more mainstream models will use it as a core configuration, promoting the move from "optional" to "standard configuration". The number of penetration models and the breadth of price ranges will increase. Industrial chain collaboration will be upgraded from "capacity matching" to "technological joint research", and cost optimization will shift from scale cost reduction to technological innovation cost reduction.

The reason is that the sign of industry maturity is the deepening of the cooperation model. In the past, costs were reduced by expanding scale. In 2026, faced with the implementation of new technologies and the demands of stringent application scenarios, upstream and downstream companies need deeper technical collaboration, such as the integrated design of driver ICs and backlight modules. This kind of collaboration can solve mass production pain points, improve yield and performance, achieve cost reduction and performance improvement, and build the competitiveness of China's Mini LED industry chain.

In-vehicle display is a key strategic direction of the company, focusing on the market of mid-to-high-end models above RMB 150,000, using "technology + quality + response" to break through barriers. Its customers include Weilai, Chery, etc., and achieves cooperation and upgrades through technical reserves, vehicle-level quality control and efficient response. In 2026, we will focus on promoting vehicle-mounted Mini LED backlight modules and system solutions and expand their applications in various screens. At the same time, the research and development of optical solutions for Mini LED for HUD (head-up display) is promoted, and the optical design and research and development of light collimation structures are currently being carried out, aiming to improve the brightness and clarity of the head-up display (HUD) and solve the dark line problem caused by traditional Fresnel lens film; this technology is the key to meeting the demand for high-brightness HUD in the smart cockpit field.

■ XINGRONO

Vehicle-mounted is the key area to carry Mini LED backlight after TV. Therefore, vehicle-mounted is the key scenario that Xingenuo will promote in 2026. The penetration rate of Mini LED backlight in automotive applications is gradually increasing, and the penetration rate has dropped significantly to 150,000 models. Xingenuo will focus on promoting the automotive market at an aggressive price point. At the same time, it launched high-current direct-drive backlight products in HUD scenarios. In the field of high-area backlighting (2000 area), PM solutions are promoted for high-scanning. RGB backlighting promotes high-end automotive displays. This year, CIGNO will promote its implementation in automotive entertainment screens.

▋ Summary

In 2026, the large-scale application of Mini LED backlight technology in the automotive field is expected to shift from simple product introduction to the simultaneous maturity of technology and business models. With the advancement of mass production projects of related models, the market will gradually test the long-term and stable supply capabilities of enterprises in the automotive-grade supply chain, rather than just staying at the conceptual level.

Experts say Research believes that in the rapid development track of vehicle-mounted display, supply chain collaboration efficiency is becoming a key challenge. Under strict vehicle regulations and rapidly changing market demands, whether chips, modules and vehicle companies can achieve efficient linkage and joint development will directly affect the speed of technology implementation and overall cost levels.

In this context, it is particularly important to gain insight into the nature of technology and industrial collaboration models. On September 8, 2026, experts say that Display will hold an annual event [Mini LED Backlight Image Quality Advancement and Micro AR Glasses Trend Analysis Meeting]. We sincerely invite colleagues from upstream and downstream of the industry chain to gather together to clarify the evolution of technology, grasp the core needs of the market, and explore your growth path in the wave of certainty of "multi-dimensional advancement of image quality" and "practical implementation of AR" at a time when display technology is flourishing and seeking practical results.

We look forward to discussing this with you.