SsangYong eyes connected cars

SsangYong Motor has teamed up with India’s Tech Mahindra and LG U+, the nation’s third largest telecommunications provider, to develop connected cars within the next three years.

Connected cars are equipped with internet access, which allows them to share information with other smart devices in real time. It has been one of the leading concepts in future automaking, along with environmentally friendly and autonomous driving cars.

While SsangYong will develop the interior systems of the car, Tech Mahindra, the information technology arm of India Mahindra Group, will provide the telematics platform, which is related to security, safety and remote controls of the car. LG U+ will offer the telecommunications network to enable internet access in the car and also develop a platform that could offer infotainment to drivers.

SsangYong joined Open Automotive Alliance along with its mother company Mahindra & Mahindra in June 2015. The alliance, which aims to develop next-generation cars based on Google’s Android operating system, includes global automakers Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Honda and Hyundai Motor along with partners Panasonic, Denso, LG and Nvidia.

“The automotive revenue pool will significantly increase and diversify toward on-demand mobility services and data-driven services,” global market consulting company McKinsey & Company said in its January report. “This could create up to $1.5 trillion - or 30 percent more - in additional revenue potential in 2030.”

The connected-car market already is a battlefield, with global contestants each holding hands with IT companies to get a foot in a relatively “untapped territory,” said a Kia Motors spokesperson.

Japan’s Toyota has linked with Microsoft while German automaker Volkswagen is cooperating with LG Electronics and BMW is collaborating with Samsung Electronics.

Among Korean automakers, Hyundai Motor has formed a partnership with Cisco to develop connected car networks. The nation’s largest auto company and its sister company Kia Motors said this year that the “hyperconnected and intelligent car” will be the main focus of their development strategies.

Fully connected cars are still under development. Various problems, including security, as wireless internet connections may be vulnerable to outsider hacking, remain to be solved before commercialization.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]