Samsung is rumoured to be on the verge of investing $450 million in Chinese electric car and battery manufacturer BYD. While the two parties have yet to confirm the size of any potential investment it is believed that Samsung will take a 4% stake and work more closely with the company going forward. As technology companies around the world jockey for position in the growing electric car market what does this mean for the future?
[B]Battery technology[/B]
While the electric cars themselves tend to grab the headlines let us not forget that battery technology is an ever more vital part of the overall picture. There is now significant investment going into this industry, both from private companies and governments around the world, with the likes of Samsung able to offer experience in areas such as mobile phone batteries.
BYD is not a so-called “new kid on the block” having sold in excess of 60,000 electric vehicles last year. However, if these two companies are able to work together then we could see some serious developments in the world of electric car battery technology.
[B]Is Samsung too late to the party?[/B]
When you bear in mind that Apple has so far spent $1 billion investing in a Chinese ride-hailing service and, perhaps the world’s worst kept secret, has been working on its own electric car, you might be forgiven for suggesting Samsung has left it too late. However, the truth is that while Samsung may not have been investing billions of dollars in complimentary companies it has still been fairly active in the EV battery sector.
The introduction of partnerships between electric vehicle manufacturers and technology related companies should speed up the development of electric vehicles in the short, medium and longer term. As a consequence, this can only be positive for the industry as a whole and there should be some very exciting times ahead.
[B]Is the electric car industry changing?[/B]
When you bear in mind that just a few years ago Tesla was dominating the headlines we have seen significant developments in recent times. Even though Tesla still leads the way in many areas of electric vehicle technology the likes of Google, Apple and an array of other well-known and well-funded technology companies have also entered the market. Competition breeds competition and while ultimately the weaker companies will crash and burn we should see significant developments perhaps even sooner than even the most optimistic of supporters had expected.