Samsung and LG are teaming up with BMW on electric vehicles (EVs), bringing their electronics expertise to the auto industry.
The efficiency and range of an electric vehicle heavily rely on battery power management. Achieving optimal battery usage is crucial for making electric vehicles more competitive. Samsung and LG are well-known players in the electronics industry with a long-standing reputation.
BMW has set a goal to manufacture 2.5 million electric vehicles by 2025 and have them account for 50% of its sales by 2030. In 2022, BMW sold around 2.1 million cars globally. In seven years, the company aims to sell over a million EVs annually.
The plan focuses on the electronics supply chain. BMW mainly uses Samsung SDI batteries in their electric vehicles, while also having batteries from China’s CATL.
BMW has been collaborating with Samsung on electric vehicle development projects since 2009. Samsung batteries were used in BMW’s first pure electric car, the i3, and plug-in hybrid, the i8.
BMW and Samsung are also collaborating in the semiconductor space. Samsung’s System LSI division reportedly created a prototype automotive semiconductor at BMW’s request earlier this year, which is used in cars to send interior and exterior information to passengers.
Samsung is set to produce BMW chips that will likely be integrated into LG Electronics’ infotainment systems. LG Electronics is the second-largest supplier of automotive infotainment systems in the world and has been collaborating with BMW in this field since 2013. The i7, BMW’s flagship electric sedan that gained attention for using a Samsung SDI battery, also employs LG’s infotainment system.
LG Electronics supplies Volkswagen Group’s automotive infotainment system with Samsung Electronics’ Exynos Auto V7 semiconductor. The Exynos Auto V7 uses an NPU for AI computation and two GPUs to process data collected from sensors and cameras.
Samsung SDI, the battery manufacturing wing of Samsung Electronics, is expected to supply the production to BMW.
It has been reported that BMW has already requested product specifications from Samsung SDI. BMW is currently building a plant dedicated to its new electric car, the Neue Klasse, which is located approximately three hours away from Samsung SDI’s plant.
The company is reportedly planning to produce the next-generation cylindrical battery in Europe. According to sources, the product is expected to have a diameter of 46㎜ and a height of 80㎜, making it a 46Φ battery.
SDI plans to expand its second plant in Hungary to produce the new battery, with an expected production capacity of around 10GWh. Construction is expected to start this year.
In its fourth-quarter earnings report last year, Samsung Electronics said it would supply automotive system-on-chips (SoCs) to a European premium automaker, fueling speculation it will be BMW.
This article was originally published on Oct. 24, 2023.