Sharp says it plans to begin selling its car-use LCD panels with a contrast ratio of 2500:1 in this year, and tests for its incorporation into vehicles are being conducted, according to digitimes.com.

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Sharp announced an eight-inch car-use LCD panel featuring a contrast ratio of 2500:1 in the last quarter of 2007 which was then touted as the industry’s highest contrast ratio for car-use displays.

The company said the trend to incorporate LCDs into the instrument panels of cars has been accelerating and by incorporating its 2500:1 panel into the dashboard will enable improved readability, and the deep, rich blacks of the display will make it possible to design high-end instrument panels in which the LCD integrates well into black-colored dashboards.

Industry sources have commented that LCD panel makers have shown great interest in developing car-use panels, which offer high margins. But these applications are more technologically challenging than ordinary displays because of the hostile environment car-use displays are subject to, such as vibrations and large variations in temperature.