TCL Surpasses LG in Premium TV Sales for the First Time

Chinese company TCL has overtaken LG in premium TV sales for the first time, taking second place in this segment after Samsung. According to an analytical report by Counterpoint Research, Chinese brands Hisense and TCL continue to win market share from South Korean leaders LG and Samsung.

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In the global TV shipment ranking, TCL overtook LG back in 2022, and Hisense in 2023. In the last quarter of 2024, as FlatpanelsHD reports, Samsung retained its leadership, TCL consolidated its second place, and LG took the fourth position. It is worth saying that the global TV market in the fourth quarter of 2024 grew by only 2%, but sales of premium models increased.

The growth in premium TV sales is due to increased demand for models with advanced technologies. “Shipments of premium models, including QD-MiniLED, QD-LCD, NanoCell, LCD 8K, QD-OLED, WOLED and MicroLED, increased by 51% compared to the same period last year, reaching a record level. For the whole of 2024, their shipments increased by 38%,” notes Counterpoint Research. At the same time, Samsung’s share in this market decreased by 12 percentage points (to 29%), while TCL doubled its shipments of premium models and overtook LG for the first time.

Source: Counterpoint Research

At the same time, experts emphasize that the concept of “premium TV” remains vague. Many mid-range devices are promoted as QLED or even MiniLED, which allows brands to classify more and more LCD models as premium. However, demand for MiniLED TVs is indeed growing, and their sales have increased by more than 170% year-on-year.

It is noted that additional risks for the market are associated with the possible introduction of 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico by the Donald Trump administration, which could affect manufacturers focused on North America. And as analysts from Counterpoint Research emphasize, the industry urgently needs to develop measures to respond to possible changes.