Two months ago, Samsung's Lee Jae-Yong and Hyundai's Chung Euisun met to discuss a possible collaboration in the electric vehicles segment. Soon, it was revealed that Samsung will provide batteries for Hyundai's electric vehicles and Exynos chipsets for the South Korean firm's connected cars. Today, the two leaders met once again to discuss a deeper collaboration in the mobility segment.
Reports coming out of South Korea confirm that Lee Jae-Yong and Hyundai's Chung Euisun had their second meeting this year. The meeting took place at Hyundai's and Kia's research and development center in Namyang, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. The facility, where over 14,000 employees work, is Hyundai's hub for future mobility technologies. Lee was accompanied by other top executives at Samsung: Hwang Sung-Woo (President of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), Jun Young-Hyun (CEO of Samsung SDI), Kang In-Yup (President of System LSI), and Kim Ki-Nam (Vice Chairman of Samsung Semiconductors).
During the meeting, Samsung's executives were briefed on Hyundai's future products and technologies in the mobility and robotics space. Lee and other executives test drove Hyundai's autonomous car and a hydrogen EV. Following this meeting, speculations became rife regarding Samsung's bigger plans in the automotive segment. The South Korean firm had acquired Harman International in 2016 to enter the connected car market.
A Samsung official said, “Including the Harman acquisition, Lee has been making efforts to strengthen Samsung’s automotive parts business, which has a portfolio ranging from automotive semiconductors, image sensors, displays to audio systems.”
The company has plans to equip its connected car solutions with AI capabilities (like Bixby), ultra-high-resolution camera sensors, Exynos chipsets, and 5G/6G connectivity. Hyundai is planning to sell a million EVs by 2025, and if Samsung gets orders to supply parts for those cars, it would be a great win for the company.
