Samsung suddenly “turned the car” on the plan to produce electric cars

In terms of policy, the Korean government has stepped up support if automakers and technology meet emissions standards. This is attracting tech companies and automakers to join the electric car craze. But Samsung made a rather unexpected decision when it decided not to produce electric cars.

Samsung is no longer interested in electric cars

In addition to traditional American and European car brands including Tesla – the leader in the electric car market, technology giant Apple is also engaged in promoting the electric car segment by hiring experts to promote electric cars. and help them solve problems related to government regulations.

But Samsung – the Korean technology giant and also Apple’s biggest competitor in the technology market has decided not to launch its own electric car brand. This was confirmed by two senior Samsung executives with The Korea Times.

The core reason behind this decision is that Samsung does not believe that entering the electric vehicle segment will bring sustainable profits and it wants to avoid any possible conflicts with its high-end customers. . Samsung will still focus on selling the products they already have.

“After careful consideration, feedback, and discussions with customers, Samsung’s senior management reached a consensus that entering the EV segment would be inappropriate both from a profit and loss standpoint.” from the customer’s perspective,” said one of the unnamed sources.

Don’t follow the crowd, focus on core customers

If it wants to improve overall quality, eliminate ineffective products, and reduce mass production to only sell products with the highest degree of perfection, Samsung still has a lot of work to do to solve the problem. solve design problems when entering the electric vehicle market. This will cost a lot and Samsung’s value may not be guaranteed,” the source said.

Unlike Samsung, Apple is essentially a design company. They design the features and software for their flagship products, while the hardware is sourced from event partners. Apple will not launch the model for the majority of consumers because they want to position themselves in the high-end segment with products that can be priced from 100,000 USD and up, more expensive than Tesla Model S.

In addition, the global electric vehicle market is already quite “crowded” with many battery and parts manufacturers having partnerships with automakers, either through forming joint ventures or buying shares. . So Samsung will have less opportunity if it wants to “jump” into this booming market.

The more remarkable point is that Samsung wants to ensure the interests of its partner businesses. As seen in Apple’s lawsuit, another executive said Samsung is trying to avoid any conflicts of interest with its old and potential customers.

Samsung Electronics is the world’s leading manufacturer of televisions, home appliances, chips and memory cards. Samsung SDI sells electric vehicle batteries to BMW and plans to expand its battery customer base with a joint venture with Canada-based Stellantis. Samsung Display supplies screens to automakers, and its subsidiary Samsung Electro-Mechanics has Tesla as one of its customers.

Samsung is betting more on its sustainability to boost its business. Because chip manufacturing services for customers, keeping mutual trust is the core factor.