Samsung or Hyundai teaming up to develop batteries and self-driving cars for electric vehicles

South Korea's two largest companies, Samsung (Samsung) and Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai Motor groups), may work together in the electric car (EV) market, according to foreign media reports. Lee Jae-young, vice-chairman of Samsung, and Chung Eui-sun, vice-chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, already know each other. Hyundai is considering working with Samsung SDI to develop electric car batteries, according to industry insiders on Oct. 22. Samsung SDI is one of the world's four largest non-Chinese electric car battery makers, but it has yet to supply electric car batteries to South Korean carmakers. Currently, Hyundai and Kia use batteries supplied by LG Chemical (LG Chem) and SK Innovation. The two carmakers are already seeking to expand their partnership with battery makers of electric vehicles to better deal with possible battery supply problems. If the two companies succeed in working together, it will be a noteworthy event because the two companies rarely work together. Samsung is a global leader in many IT industries, such as small lithium-ion batteries and memory semiconductors, and Hyundai is one of the world's top five carmakers. Since 1995, when Samsung announced its entry into the auto market, the relationship has become awkward and business cooperation has been close to zero. However, many experts believe that given the relationship between the young heads of the group, the two sides are likely to work together on electric and self-driving cars. In addition, young leaders at both companies are trying to create business opportunities that make it more likely to work together. Hyundai aims to increase the number of electric car models to at least 14 by 2025, making it the third-largest electric car maker in the global electric car market. Samsung Electronics (Samsung Electronics), which focuses on Automotive Electronics as a future growth opportunity, recently bought Harman International (Harman International) for $8 billion. Recently, the price of memory semiconductors is falling, and competition in the global smartphone market is becoming increasingly fierce, meaning Samsung needs to seek other growth drivers. In addition, as a result of increased competition and protectionism, Hyundai's global market share has fallen as sales have fallen. Although the two sides are not currently working together in direct business, the two companies have previously invested jointly in US battery makers and have both conducted self-driving car research with SK Telecom (SK Telecom). "A large number of competitors around the world are becoming partners in the Industrial 4.0 era," experts said. Samsung and Hyundai will have a stronger partnership in the auto market in the future than Google's partnership with GM. "