Samsung Electronics has no intention of making electric vehicles
Sony has made an official statement, Apple is keeping it a secret, but rumors continue to flow, and Huawei and Xiaomi are also preparing to enter the EV market. However, Samsung dismissed it, saying it has no plans to make an electric car.
At CES earlier this year, the biggest topic was Sony. Sony already brought back the concept car it introduced last year, but it wasn't a real car. It was the vision that none other than them would jump directly into the automobile business. Until just a year ago (at the time, the concept car vision had been announced), Sony didn't seem interested in making its own electric car.
Even though it was equipped with a design and assembly quality that could be produced immediately by anyone, and various technologies that Sony had introduced, Sony was just developing technology as a supplier to the automobile industry, and said that it would focus only on that. However, exactly one year later, Sony unveiled the new SUV concept car, the Vision S, and announced that it was ready to go directly into the automobile business.
Meanwhile, Kia Motors' stock price fluctuated once last year. It was because of rumors that Kia Motors would take over the manufacturing of the Apple Car. Both companies said it was bad news, but people didn't immediately hear it. That would be a testament to the high expectations for Apple. Afterwards, this news became really bad news, but there were even rumors inside Apple that they were still working on the development of an electric car, and there were even rumors that the first electric car would come out as early as 2025.
People's expectation that Sony and Apple will go directly into manufacturing and selling electric vehicles is due to their potential and assets. Sony, for example, has vast technology and intellectual property related to electronics, including the design and manufacture of cameras, image sensors and electronic components, and still supplies numerous automotive components to various manufacturers.
Therefore, they have the ability to produce fully electric vehicles with their own technology and production lines whenever they want. Of course, it is impossible to produce all of them directly, but the consensus of the industry is that at least there is no problem in producing major parts for electric vehicles. In particular, for Sony, which swept the global home appliance market in the 20th century and lost most of its current market dominance, the prospect that electric vehicles would become their future route was strong.
In the end, they lived up to the world's expectations, and although we don't know when exactly that will be, an electric car named Sony is coming to the world. So, what about Samsung Electronics, which has overtaken Sony and sits on the throne in the electronics market? Samsung Electronics is also expected to be able to manufacture electric vehicles in a similar or simpler way to Sony.
First of all, they are almost the only companies that can research and develop batteries on their own. Currently, no car company has the battery research and production technology at the level of Samsung Electronics. In addition to this, Samsung Electronics' portfolio is splendid in the automotive parts business. For example, Harman, which they acquired, is not only an audio empire but also a strong player in the automotive electronics parts business. In addition, Samsung is a company that can directly develop and manufacture displays that are considered the most important in car interiors. It even has the world's most advanced OLED manufacturing capability.
Crucially, semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing are possible, so if Samsung Electronics enters the automobile business, it can procure parts more easily than any other manufacturer and, if desired, can produce electric vehicles much faster than other electronics companies. Despite such great potential, there have been rumors that Samsung Electronics has no intention of entering the electric vehicle business. The reason is as follows.
Currently, Samsung Electronics has partnerships with BMW, Audi, Hyundai, and even Tesla. It is undeniable that a significant level of revenue is generated through these companies. That is why Samsung is most concerned about damaging its relationship with them. Even now, he is earning enough money, he decided that it was not necessary to sever the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs by stimulating the partners.
Moreover, since the Samsung Group itself has a history of failing to challenge the automobile industry, perhaps the automobile business is a taboo word for them. In any case, Samsung Electronics is said to have no intention of entering the EV market due to the relationship between Samsung and other partners in the current market.
However, some are questioning whether Samsung will be passive in entering the electric vehicle business even then, even if it is the case now, if the Apple Car appears in 2025 and even Sony and Huawei enter the market. No one knows what will happen after all, given Sony's case and Apple's foreseeable future.