Samsung, Hyundai Motor in joint push for connected cars

Samsung Electronics Co. will connect its smart home devices with the in-vehicle infotainment systems of Hyundai and Kia cars, including electric vehicles, in their joint push to lead the connected car and smart home segments.

Samsung said on Thursday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Motor Group on Jan. 3 to interoperate its Internet of Things platform, SmartThings Station, with the in-vehicle infotainment software of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. vehicles. 

Users will be able to remotely operate their cars from home using the SmartThings platform. This includes checking the status of their EV charging, opening and closing windows, and controlling smart air conditioning.

From their cars, they will be able to control home appliances such as TVs and air conditioners. 

“The two companies will work together for the next-generation smart home to connect Samsung’s SmartThings with Hyundai and Kia’s connected cars, including EVs, to develop ‘Home-to-Car’ and ‘Car-to-Home’ services as well as an integrated home energy management service,” Samsung said in a joint statement with Hyundai.

When users are ready to depart, their smartphone and TV screens will display information such as the EV’s remaining battery and driving range.

“This is an opportunity to make connected cars' car-to-home and home-to-car services more convenient in various fields,” said Kwon Haeyoung, vice president of Hyundai and Kia’s Infotainment Development Center.

“We plan to accelerate our technology development to continuously make global Hyundai and Kia customers’ journeys meaningful.”

The announcement follows an agreement made by the two companies in June of last year when they committed to collaborating on the in-vehicle infotainment field. Under the agreement, Samsung will supply the Exynos Auto V920 processors, which run in-vehicle infotainment applications of Hyundai’s premium models, from 2025.

Samsung has been stepping up in-vehicle software development since it purchased Harman, a US-based electronics systems maker for automobiles, in 2016.

Last year, Harman took over France-based audio software company FLUX Software Engineering (FLUX::).

Hyundai recently decided to reorganize its in-vehicle software development divisions by transferring the units scattered around the group to 42dot, its self-driving technology arm.

Write to Ik-hwa Kim and Nan-Sae Bin at lovepen@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.