Samsung and Apple Logo (Photo : Reuters)
Many were surprised with the recently leaked yet unconfirmed news that Apple is building its very own car and at the same time massive surge of hearsay has clouded the tech world whether Cupertino's closest rival Samsung is also in development of its own car.
What many forgot is that Samsung has been in the car industry for more than a decade. In 1994, Samsung launched its car division known as Samsung Motors. Samsung along with Nissan developed and manufactured a conventional car called the Maxima. The car was released on the market as the SM5 on 1998 despite the fact that the Asian market was facing extreme financial crisis during that time, according to Fox News.
Samsung's car division did not perform well so the company sold majority of it to Renault. The company is known today as Renault Samsung Motors. The company's car lineup includes three sedans, an electric car and two crossovers.
Samsung's roots within the electric car industry also run deep as it is also responsible for supplying battery cells for the BMW i3 and i8 plug-in cars. On Monday, Samsung also announced its interest to buy Magna International.
Samsung SDI, the company's battery manufacturing division plays a vital role in the electric car segment and reports has been circulating that Apple is on a massive employee-piracy drive in order to lure away manpower away from its rival. Apple has been luring away employees from various tech giants as well like Panasonic and Tesla.
Many analysts were convinced that in terms of car manufacturing Samsung has the upper hand compared to Apple, according to Toms Hardware. Samsung already has a wide experience in terms of engineering and considering its decade-long business relation with establish car manufacturer Renault-Nissan it would not be a surprise if Samsung releases an official car anytime soon.
