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Samsung's Lee meets with BYD executives

Published: 24 Mar. 2025, 20:49 Updated: 24 Mar. 2025, 20:50

Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, left, and Lei Jun, chairman of Xiaomi, at Xiaomi's electric vehicle plant on March 22 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with executives at Chinese EV manufacturer BYD during a business trip to China Monday.

The visit, following a stop at Xiaomi’s EV plant in Beijing, underscores Samsung’s growing ambition to expand its automotive electronics business in partnership with major Chinese EV players.

According to business sources on Monday, Lee visited BYD’s headquarters in Shenzhen. The city, often called “China’s Silicon Valley,” is also home to tech giants like Huawei and Alibaba. This is Lee’s second known visit to BYD; the first was in May 2018.

BYD overtook Tesla in 2023 to become the world’s largest EV manufacturer, selling more than 3.02 million environmentally friendly vehicles, including electric, hybrid and hydrogen cars. Tesla’s deliveries last year totaled 1.82 million. BYD recently unveiled a new EV platform capable of 400 kilometers of range after just five minutes of charging.

The company reported a sharp rise in profits. According to the South China Morning Post, BYD’s operating profit jumped 80.7 percent year-on-year to 30.04 billion yuan ($4.2 billion). Sales climbed 42 percent to 602.3 billion yuan.

Two days before the BYD meeting, Lee visited Xiaomi’s electric vehicle facility in Beijing and met with CEO Lei Jun. Xiaomi launched its first EV, the SU7, last year, selling more than 130,000 units. The company aims to sell 350,000 this year, stepping up its presence in the fast-growing sector.

Lee is currently attending the China Development Forum in Beijing, a two-day event that began Sunday. His meetings with top Chinese EV firms suggest Samsung is laying the groundwork for deeper collaboration in the electric vehicle components market.
Samsung is poised to offer technologies ranging from Harman’s digital cockpit systems to OLED displays, memory chips, and EV batteries. The tech giant participated in the Beijing Auto Show last April for the first time, signaling its serious push into automotive semiconductors.

Lee has urged Samsung executives to act boldly, citing a “do-or-die” mindset. His recent trips reflect that urgency. Some speculate that a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could also be on the agenda.

BY NA SANG-HYEON, PARK YOUNG-WOO [[email protected]]