Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that it had created a team focused on the development of auto parts, a move viewed by the market as part of Samsung's push to break into the self-driving car industry.
The South Korean tech giant carried out an organizational reshuffle on Dec 9. and has set up a team dedicated to the development of automotive parts. “In order to gain competencies in the automotive parts business in a short time, we will first concentrate on developing infotainment systems and parts for self-driving cars and will join forces with our affiliates down the road,” Samsung Electronics said.
The industry regards such a move as the Samsung Group jumping into the self-driving car fray because the move follows efforts by global IT titans, such as Google, Apple and Tesla, to make inroads into the autonomous car industry.
Samsung Electronics is the world’s No.1 producer of semiconductors, the brain of autonomous cars. Samsung has already secured global competitiveness in the production of secondary batteries for cars (Samsung SDI), cameras (Samsung Electro-Mechanics) and displays (Samsung Display).
The chairman of the Samsung Group, Lee Kun Hee, declared Samsung’s entry into the commercial vehicle market in 1993. Samsung Motors was founded in 1995, but it failed to ride out the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 2000, Samsung Motors changed its name to Renault Samsung Motors following French carmaker Renault’s takeover of Samsung Motors.
