NEW DELHI: Consumer electronics maker LG is aiming to corner around 27 per cent of the Indian television market this year, helped by the introduction of new-generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to the affordable segment.
Besides, the company would retain its market share in 55-inch and above screen size where LG has around 30 per cent market share and in OLED, where it dominates with over 70 per cent market share.
LG Electronics India, which manufactures its entire TV line-up here, would continue to invest in its Indian operations for expansion and to cater the growing demand in both—affordable and premium segments.
“We are expecting more than 27 per cent share (volume-wise) on the total Indian market demand helped by this new (AI-assisted models),” LG Electronics India Director (Home Entertainment) Younchul Park told PTI.
He further said that last year, LG had 25 per cent market share of the total Indian TV market.
The Indian TV market is expected to be around 14 million units and majority of the market is controlled by three leading brands—Samsung, LG and Sony.
The big TV brands are now facing intense competition in the affordable and entry-level segment. However, sale of large-screen panels are increasing and companies such as LG are investing in that.
“The competition is tough after every year but the important thing is that the segment of large screen is growing rapidly. That’s why LG is investing in those large premium sets,” said Park.
However, he also added, “We are also putting value to the smaller 32-inch screen size by introducing AI technology, which are in the premium OLED range.”
LG is also witnessing a faster adoption of smart TVs from the rural and non-metro markets and is gearing up to tap the market with several consumer incentives.
“Now, even the rural India has 4G and we are also providing innovative products. We are not going for cheaper price but also with value proposition. We want those customers to enjoy AI function,” he said adding that LG is also considering to give Jio dongle free to enjoy 4G bandwidth with AI-enabled TV.
LG Electronics India Wednesday launched ThinQ AI range of TV here with AI. Besides, ThinQ AI range would provide additional choices and options of Amazon Alexa and Apple AirPlay 2.
The new range includes various models under its SMART, LED, UHD, NanoCell and OLED AI ThinQ Televisions.
LG’s 2019 OLED TV line-up allow users to take voice control one step further with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, available out of the box, making it the only TV to provide support for both leading AI platforms without the need for additional hardware.
“We are thrilled to introduce Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and AirPlay2 in our televisions that will certainly bring more convenience to our customers,” said Park.
He added that with this built-in technology, users of LG televisions will be able to do much more than simply watching TV like, they can read news updates, check weather forecast, order food, essentially they can control their surroundings in a much easier and efficient way. “We are confident that this new feature will elevate the home entertainment experience of both our existing and future consumer.” (AGENCIES)