Samsung Vice Chairman Indicates Company Considering Move Into EV
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Electronics powerhouse Samsung says it is thinking of jumping into the electric car business, according to Vice Chairman Lee Jae Yong. Samsung is rumored to be in talks with Fiat to purchase its electronics division, Magneti Marelli.
But if Samsung is just getting into the game now, it has a lot of ground to make up. Apple has been pursuing its "Project Titan" vision for at least three years already. News that super-engineer Bob Mansfield has come out of retirement to head up Apple’s 1,800 strong project team only confirms its commitment to its electric car endeavor. Mansfield is the man who spearheaded the design and development of the Macbook Air laptop computer, the iMac desktop computer, and the iPad tablet.
In 1994, Samsung formed a partnership with Nissan to launch Samsung Motors. At the time, it boasted that it wanted to be the largest car company in the world. Things didn’t exactly turn out as planned.
Samsung ended up selling 70 percent of its stake to Renault, which renamed the company Renault Samsung Motors. That company is still in business today selling small cars in the Asian market. But that tie-in between Samsung and Renault is still there. It could be just the entré Samsung needs to get itself back into the car business.
Samsung SDI provides the battery cells for BMW’s electric cars, and it is a leading producer of stationary energy storage batteries.
But if Samsung is just getting into the game now, it has a lot of ground to make up. Apple has been pursuing its "Project Titan" vision for at least three years already. News that super-engineer Bob Mansfield has come out of retirement to head up Apple’s 1,800 strong project team only confirms its commitment to its electric car endeavor. Mansfield is the man who spearheaded the design and development of the Macbook Air laptop computer, the iMac desktop computer, and the iPad tablet.
In 1994, Samsung formed a partnership with Nissan to launch Samsung Motors. At the time, it boasted that it wanted to be the largest car company in the world. Things didn’t exactly turn out as planned.
Samsung ended up selling 70 percent of its stake to Renault, which renamed the company Renault Samsung Motors. That company is still in business today selling small cars in the Asian market. But that tie-in between Samsung and Renault is still there. It could be just the entré Samsung needs to get itself back into the car business.
Samsung SDI provides the battery cells for BMW’s electric cars, and it is a leading producer of stationary energy storage batteries.
