Samsung sez 'automaker/electronics borderlines will be blurred'
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/12/17/samsung-files-patents-for-electric-vehicle-technology/ Samsung Files Patents for Electric-Vehicle Technology December 17, 2013 By Min-Jeong Lee [image / Reuters http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-AU756_samsun_D_20131217062256.jpg A passenger using his mobile phone walks past an advertisement promoting Samsung Electronics ] Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, is notoriously tight-lipped about its business plans. But a series of patent filings give an inkling of its interest in one niche segment: the market for electric vehicles. Samsung Electronics Co.’s patent applications in the U.S. and South Korea this year cover parts and technology that could be used in electric vehicles, though both the parent group and the company told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that it has no plans to enter that market. Still, the filings lift the curtain on ideas the conglomerate might be toying with to diversify its sources of revenue. Electric cars ... could offer the well-known Korean brand a chance to take its technological prowess beyond its marquee offerings of smartphones, televisions and memory chips. Samsung Electronics has long been searching for a new growth engine to counter slowing momentum in the competitive market for TVs and mobile devices. Whether the company will decide to launch electric vehicles and profit from them is still in question. It didn’t immediately have an explanation on Tuesday why it was seeking the patents. The company regularly files hundreds of technology and design patents that stretch over a number of consumer products, some of which don’t make it into commercial production. “Should the world enter an era of electric vehicles, the borderlines between auto makers and electronics companies will be blurred,” said Jae H. Lee, an analyst with Daiwa Securities. Mr. Lee noted that when electric vehicles are more commonly used, the industry would be a new source of profits that Samsung could enter without too much trouble. But for now, Samsung is likely to tread cautiously with any related plans given its past experience, he said. In the patent applications published through the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as well as the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, Samsung submitted applications for new technologies needed in making auto parts that can be used in electric vehicles. These cover technology patents for tires, motors, as well as on-board electronics for information sharing between the car and driver. “Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have gained more popularity due to harmful environmental effects from air pollution and an increasing shortage of fossil fuels,” Samsung Electronics said in one of the filings. The Samsung Group’s initial foray in the automobile industry wasn’t successful. In the 1990s, it established an automobile unit called Samsung Motors Inc., through which it launched a sedan model currently known as the SM series. But it sold the business to France’s Renault SA in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which hit many South Korean conglomerates. The company is now called Renault-Samsung Motors Corp. The two brands are under an agreement to keep the Samsung name until 2020, although they are unrelated in terms of business operations, according to a spokeswoman at Renault-Samsung. Samsung Card Co., which is a credit-card affiliate of the Samsung Group and holds stakes in various Samsung companies, still has a 19.9% stake in Renault-Samsung. For now, Samsung’s exposure to electric vehicles is only through its battery-making affiliate, Samsung SDI Co.006400.SE -0.30% The company, which has been aggressively pushing into the field of rechargeable batteries, has supply deals with foreign auto names like BMW AGBMW.XE +1.52%, Chrysler Group LLC and Mahindra & Mahindra Corp.500520.BY -0.77% for batteries used in electric cars. It is also in talks with Tesla Motors Inc.TSLA -4.79% for a potential deal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The patent filings suggest Samsung also has considered linking its medical business with its push into autos. According to a filing published in August, Samsung is working on a technology for controlling vehicles based on a person’s medical condition. The invention will offer “optimized driving conditions by controlling the vehicle based on a driver’s private medical information,” the filing says. [© 2013 Dow Jones & Company] http://bgr.com/2013/12/17/samsung-electric-cars-patents/ The next market Samsung will look to conquer: Electric cars By Jacob Siegal Dec 17, 2013 [image] smartphone With profit margins shrinking in the smartphone segment, some companies are starting to explore new sources of revenue. According to The Wall Street Journal, several patents have cropped up this year which indicate that Samsung might be making its way into the electric car market. The applications include parts and technology for electric vehicles, although Samsung told the Journal that it has no interest in entering that market. “Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have gained more popularity due to harmful environmental effects from air pollution and an increasing shortage of fossil fuels,” said Samsung in one of its filings. In another, the company touched upon creating “optimized driving conditions by controlling the vehicle based on a driver’s private medical information.” Samsung has been on the hunt for new sources of growth for quite some time, from building its own operating system to taking a leap with wearable technology. The electric car market might seem like a bit of a stretch for an electronics company, but Jae H. Lee, an analyst with Daiwa Securities believes that “(s)hould the world enter an era of electric vehicles, the borderlines between auto makers and electronics companies will be blurred.” [© 2013 BGR Media] http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/12/samsung-patents-hint-at-companys-interest-in-electric-vehicles/ Samsung Patents Hint At Company’s Interest In Electric Vehicles 12/17/2013 ... Samsung has filed for a wide variety of patents that range for engines to tires to onboard electronic systems ... in U.S. and South Korea ... Even if Samsung doesn’t launch an entire automobile, it may continue its work in the sector by creating technologies that deal with the driver’s interaction with electronic systems. 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