Samsung looking to invest in Chinese electric car manufacturer

BYD says Samsung has been actively pushing talks forward

Korean electronics giant Samsung are in talks with Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD Co.

The details of the agreement are to be announced when the deal is confirmed, Samsung said on Friday. The move comes at a strategic time as Samsung looks to tap into the growing market for electric cars within China.



Samsung began pursuing the investment after its affiliate left off the list of approved battery makers to supply to the Chinese market. The electric car market has been growing rapidly in China over the past year as it overtook the US as the largest market for electric vehicles. This rise can be credited to the Chinese government’s efforts to increase the number of charging ports available to the public. The government wants to raise the use of new-energy vehicles to three million vehicles by 2025.

Apart from this, the agreement between the two firms would fall in line with the recent trend of automakers collaborating with technology companies to keep up with consumer demands for more advanced power trains as well as greater connectivity between car systems and smart phones. This agreement would allow Samsung to further develop its in-car technology along with reaping the profits from a growing market.



“It puts Samsung into the electric-vehicle subsystem supply chain for a key Chinese electric vehicle and battery manufacturer,” said Bill Russo, a Shanghai-based managing director at Gao Feng Advisory Co. “BYD gets a technology innovation pipeline partner with a reputable brand.”

BYD has a current market value of $21 billion and this is likely the rise with the continued growth in the number of electric cars used.

This article originally appeared on Bloomberg.