General
The Samsung Group announced earlier this year that it has formed a new team to grow its automotive-related business. Samsung is also said to be interested in electric and smart cars, it has even modified a race track it owns to test autonomous cars. The company has already teamed up with SAP and SEAT to develop projects for connected cars and has been actively seeking partnerships with iconic German automakers to improve its position in the market. Samsung has now taken a sizeable stake in China's largest electric vehicle manufacturer.
Samsung has confirmed that it has acquired a stake in BYD, China's largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, however the company has not revealed the financial terms of this deal. Reports suggest that Samsung has invested 3 billion yuan ($449.10 million) in the company which gives it a 4 percent stake in the company. Samsung did say that this deal does not mean it's going to participate in BYD's management, the company sees its latest investment as a means to improve its partnership with BYD on automotive and smartphone parts. Samsung SDI is a major supplier of battery cells for electric cars but this deal is not linked to the conglomerate's battery-making arm in any way.
