Electric vehicles, as a hot industry at present, have attracted the attention of many mobile phone manufacturers. Xiaomi officially announced the production of cars, and news of Apple cars has also been reported frequently.
Previously, it was rumored that Samsung would also build its own electric vehicles, and the company currently supplies parts for some EV makers. However, Samsung seems to have decided not to make electric cars.
The Korea Times, citing two Samsung executives directly involved in the decision, said Samsung would not produce its own electric vehicles. The main reason is that Samsung doesn’t think its efforts in finished electric vehicles will lead to sustainable profits. As a leading parts supplier to the electric vehicle industry, Samsung also wants to avoid potential conflicts with customers.
One of the sources said: that Samsung still has a lot of design-centric issues left unaddressed when dealing with the finished EV business. From Samsung’s perspective, it would be a big investment and probably not guaranteed to be of value.
As its smartphone business faces stiff competition and declining profits, Samsung has relied more on its components business for high profits. IT House learned that Samsung is currently shipping autopilot chips, camera modules, batteries, OLED displays and other components, and customers include Tesla, Hyundai, BMW, Audi, Rivian and other automakers.
If Samsung starts building its own EVs, it will compete directly with customers. Samsung doesn’t want to be in a situation similar to Apple’s decade-long patent infringement lawsuit.
A second source said: “Given the company’s position and strength in components, clear and effective management with customers will be very important. Another important lesson Samsung has learned from its fight with Apple is to always maintain a Compliance-centric management awareness.”