It had been rumored for well over a decade that Apple was planning to make a car. The company reportedly had a large team working on this project which would have resulted in a fully electric self-driving car. It obviously never materialized and after burning billions on the project, Apple has reportedly given up on the idea.
Samsung is in no mood to make cars, so it wouldn't have been worried about Apple's entry into the automotive segment, however it would have caused problems for some of its other businesses. The company wouldn't be feeling too bad now that Apple's plans to make a car have crashed and burned.
Samsung gave up on making cars a long time ago
Not long after word of Apple's car ambitions got everyone talking, some believed that perhaps Samsung would follow suit. It's much better positioned than Apple to enter into the car business anyway, with its strong lineup of affiliates in battery, auto parts, and in-car platforms.
In reality, as far as making cars is concerned, Samsung has already been there and done that. Samsung Motors was a vehicle manufacturing unit launched back in 1994 which went bankrupt in the 1997-98 Asian financial crises. Renault ended up acquiring the unit in 2000.
Since then, Samsung has flatly denied any plans to enter into vehicle manufacturing itself or buy a car company. Samsung sees its future in this industry as a major solutions provider. From making auto parts, batteries, displays for in-car screens, to self-driving chips and infotainment solutions, it wants to be the go-to supplier for car manufacturers of the world.
Apple's car project crashing out might prove to be beneficial for Harman, which is owned by Samsung. Apple would have created its own infotainment platform and if it began licensing it to other carmakers, that would have taken substantial market share from Harman. Now Harman doesn't have to contend with that risk and ultimately won't find itself head-to-head with Apple.
