Launched’Aluto’ to be the brain of the future car… LG electronics business was organized

LG Electronics’ vehicle infotainment joint venture (JV)’Aluto’ will be launched on the 15th. It seems that LG Electronics is increasing its competitiveness in hardware as well as software in the field of automotive electronics (electrical devices).

On the 12th, LG Electronics announced through its global newsroom that Aluto, a joint venture with Swiss software company Looksoft, will hold an online launch ceremony on the 15th at 8 am (local time) and start a full-scale business. Its headquarters are located in Santa Clara, California, USA. Aluto’s initial capital was 4 billion won, and LG Electronics invested 2.1 billion won to secure a 52% stake.

Aluto commercializes infotainment (information + entertainment), digital cockpit (multi-display), and passenger seat entertainment system (PSE) based on’WebOS Auto’, a vehicle operating system developed by LG Electronics, and discovers new business opportunities.

With the recent increase in the spread of electric vehicles, automobiles are being recognized as’a huge smartphone with wheels’. Naturally, interest in automotive OS, which is the brain, is increasing. Vehicles that have been converted into home appliances must be equipped with an OS to control vehicles, such as autonomous driving, and enjoy movies and games.

According to market research firm Global Market Insights, the automotive OS market is expected to grow from $4.5 billion (about 490 trillion won) in 2019 to $12 billion (about 13 trillion won) in 2026. LG Electronics plans to launch its global business with WebOS Auto.

Adam Always was appointed as Aluto’s first CEO. He has the experience of starting’Plug Surfing’, a startup that operates a platform related to electric vehicle charging. Plugsurfing was acquired in March 2018 by Portum, which is called “Finland’s KEPCO,” and last year worked with Volvo. CEO Adam Always Aluto said, “With WebOS Auto 2.0, we will bring the experience of living in the home to a car and present a vision for the future car.”

Earlier, in December last year, LG Electronics announced that it would establish a joint venture for electric vehicle powertrain (power transmission system) with Magna International, Canada, the world’s third-largest auto parts company. The new corporation’LG Magna e-Powertrain’ (LG Magna) will be officially launched in July this year. LG Magna plans to produce motors and battery heaters, high power distribution modules, power relay assemblies (PRA), DC charging boxes, and battery parts.

Since the inauguration of Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, LG has been making special efforts to make the electronics business a food for the future. In 2018, the first year of Chairman Koo’s inauguration, LG Electronics invested about 1 trillion won to acquire ZKW, an Austrian automotive headlamp manufacturer. At the end of 2019, the vehicle lamp business in LG Electronics’ Electrical Equipment (VS) division was transferred to ZKW and integrated.

Accordingly, LG’s major affiliates have created a business structure that is close to the vehicle sector. LG Electronics is expanding its business area from major parts and lighting of electric vehicles to software. LG Energy Solution is the world’s No. 1 in the electric vehicle battery market. LG Innotek is in the business of steering motors, sensors, rear cameras, and Wi-Fi modules.

Jeong Gu-min, a professor at Kookmin University’s Department of Electronics Engineering, said, “LG ​​Electronics alone has a significant global competitiveness as an electric vehicle maker. Professor Jeong said, “LG Electronics’ ability to experience both home appliance and smartphone manufacturing will be able to exert its core competitiveness in the electric vehicle field.”

Reporter Park Hyung-soo [email protected]