LG and Samsung overweight Internet car business

LG Electronics announced that they had obtained a safety certification for unmanned parts provided by German quality and safety testing service provider TUV Rheinland, marking another step forward for LG in its driverless business.

LG says it has obtained safety certifications for advanced driver assistance systems, in-car entertainment systems, and in-car display systems to meet the safety needs of driverless cars. This is the second time LG has received a vehicle-related safety certification. Another of their certifications was an electric vehicle safety certification obtained in 2014.

Kim jin-yong, President of LG electronics' smart business department, said: " the new safety certification put us in a lead in driverless and electric vehicles."

In 2013, LG set up an auto parts department. After that, it has been trying to break in the auto market. The safety certification marks another breakthrough for LG.  Since 2013, the company has provided electric car parts to multiple automakers around the world, including well-known ones like General Motor. 

LG and U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm agreed to work together to develop a car-level 5G network and c-v2x technology. This will play a crucial role in the development of interconnected cars.

In addition to LG, Samsung electronics, South Korea company, has also made breakthroughs in self-driving electronic technology, although it entered the auto industry a bit later. As part of its efforts in the auto industry, Samsung paid $8 billion to accquire Harman, an American maker of Internet automotive systems. Harman set up the strategic business department, which works with Samsung's strategy and innovation center to jointly develop safer and smarter interconnected vehicles. 

Samsung also set up a $300 million self-driving innovation fund to drive its self-driving electronics business. Samsung will use the fund to invest in technologies related to interconnected cars, such as intelligent sensors, Machine Vision, Artificial Intelligence, connectivity solutions, and security technologies.

Samsung, now the world's largest chipmaker, is also likely to enter the market for car memory chips, especially as more and more cars are connected in the future. More and more data are produced. 

"If Samsung chooses to keep going, they will build on their strengths in the self-driving chip sector, as the requirements for high-performance memory chips in driverless and interconnected cars are becoming higher and higher," NH Investment & Securities analyst Lee Se-Chul said.

Industry observers believe that as tech companies slow down growth in their traditional areas, such as smartphones, mobile chips, and displays, they are looking for new directions and sources of revenue. 

"Samsung and LG have their own advantages in cameras, sensors, chips, and equipment," said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University. “Their interconnected car business is expected to accelerate further as it relies heavily on technology from High-tech companies.” He added: "although LG is temporarily ahead of Samsung in the electronics component market, it remains to be seen who will succeed as both companies are new to automotive technology."

The global automotive electronics market is expected to reach $169.6 billion by 2021, according to U.S. research firm IC Insights.