The parties still deny it, but the rumors of cooperation between Apple and the Hyundai Motor Group over Apple cars are getting even hotter. Many media reported on CNBC that a contract between Apple and Kia was imminent. Whether the Apple partner is Kia or another automaker, it is only a matter of time before the outline of the Apple car is revealed.
Apple cars are solidifying into electric self-driving cars with self-driving technology on top of electric cars. In fact, Tesla is expanding the market for electric self-driving cars first, and information technology (IT) companies such as Google and Baidu are keen to form the market.
The reason the industry is nervous about the Apple Car is that it has tasted the innovation of the iPhone in the past. How innovative and differentiated platforms can be created with the same electric self-driving car is the key to seizing the new market.
An industry that has grown infotainment to respond to Apple cars
The first vehicle in Korea to be equipped with an Apple vehicle infotainment system (CarPlay) is Korea’s GM’The Next Spark’, which was launched in 2015.
At that time, the automobile industry and the IT industry showed various reactions to the introduction of CarPlay. Some predicted that the boundary between cars and smartphones could disappear in earnest.
In the early stages of its introduction, CarPlay was evaluated for having content that did not match the domestic situation. It was also pointed out that its own map app did not reflect domestic road conditions at all.
Over time, CarPlay has become familiar to domestic consumers. Recently, the ability to display maps and music contents at the same time has been added, and it has begun to be compatible with mobile navigation apps such as T Map, Kakao Navi, and Naver Map, which are widely used in Korea. Domestic music content apps such as Melon and Bugs Music are also linked with CarPlay.
Initially, CarPlay had to connect the iPhone and the vehicle with a USB cable, but recently it has evolved into a concept that works without a USB cable.
When the Apple Car era begins in earnest, a world in which CarPlay can operate properly without an iPhone is expected. There are also concerns that the presence of various domestic companies that have formed an ecosystem related to automobiles may disappear if the carplay user experience is enriched.
However, after the introduction of CarPlay in Korea, domestic automakers are rapidly developing their own infotainment functions.
The best strategy for Hyundai Motor Group to compete with Apple’s vehicle OS such as CarPlay is Kakao’s voice recognition.
In the early days, Kakao voice recognition was able to search for navigation routes, but in recent years, it has advanced to the level of controlling major functions of automobiles or remotely controlling home appliances.
The Genesis GV70, which was unveiled at the end of last year, has also applied a technology that displays the main contents of Kakao voice recognition to the center fascia display. It is an attempt to widen the area of communication between vehicles and users.
Hyundai Motor Group has also added Genie Music content to the Genesis GV70. You can enjoy new music with Genie Music by using its own communication module without a wired or wireless connection to a smartphone. It is evaluated as an attempt aimed at Apple Music, which can be enjoyed through regular subscriptions.
Hyundai Motor Group introduced the backseat infotainment content system to Grandeur and Carnival. Melon and YouTube contents are provided for rear seat passengers. In particular, the infotainment system for the back of the carnival has added pinkfong content for young children. It is a strategy to differentiate by adding different content that Apple CarPlay has not provided so far.
Tesla vehicles currently sold at home and abroad do not link with Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto. The purpose is to give the driver pleasure by utilizing the streaming contents in its own software (SW). It is interpreted as a sequential response system to prepare for the future Apple car era.
Tesla Korea launched a connectivity subscription service last year. After a one-year free trial period, it is converted to a fee. If you pay 7,900 won per month, you can use real-time traffic information, satellite maps, video streaming, music streaming, and internet browsers.
Tesla can enjoy content widely used at home and abroad, such as YouTube, Netflix, and Twitch, in the vehicle.
According to Electrek, an electric vehicle specialist in the United States, Tesla is preparing to enjoy Apple Music contents. If Tesla applies Apple Music content with its own software, it is predicted that it can compete equally with the internal OS of the Apple car in the future.
Apple’s homework’Apple Car’ to the battery industry
The global electric vehicle industry has a long mileage, low production cost, and is striving for a stable battery supply and demand. Apple is also expected to install this dream battery in Apple cars. The mileage depends on the battery density, and the production cost and stability depend on the raw material of the battery material. Developing more advanced battery technology from raw materials with high price competitiveness is the battery industry’s homework for Apple cars.
What battery does Apple want? To get a rough look, I double-checked the report of’Reuters’ mentioned in Episode 1. At the end of last year, Reuters cited’Monocell’ as an example, saying,’There is a possibility that Apple will release an Apple car in 2024. The monocell is a design that removes the pouch and module from the battery pack. The advantage is that you can secure enough space inside the pack. More active substances can be put in a larger space, which can increase the mileage.
One of the theories cited with the monocell design is that Apple is considering using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. LFP, which uses iron instead of expensive cobalt, has a relatively low chance of overheating than other batteries, making it safe and economical. LFP is regarded as an alternative to electric vehicle fires with lithium-ion batteries.
The LFP is a battery that Tesla has recently begun to apply to some electric vehicle models. China CATL is in charge of supply. The Wall Street Journal went further and reported that “Apple seems to have already established a partnership with CATL.” Why are foreign media and industry paying attention to this battery? It is possible to speculate that price competitiveness and safety are priorities of Apple Cars over simple performance.
Nevertheless, the aim of the electric vehicle battery is the high energy density and high efficiency line (高高益善). Representative examples are nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and NCA batteries, which the domestic industry has been focusing on. Three domestic companies, including LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation, seem to be concentrating on solving the question,’How can I increase energy density?’
The industry’s view of LFP is similar. Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solutions evaluated the LFP battery as’the possibility of future growth will be limited.’ The advantage is that it is cheap because it does not use cobalt, and the possibility of fire is relatively low, but the fact that it is heavy and its energy density and instantaneous output is weak is a fatal disadvantage for an electric vehicle battery. It is observed that the LFP will continue to be used for limited use in electric vehicle models with short mileage or electric buses with many batteries.
The domestic industry predicted that ternary batteries such as NCM will become mainstream in the long term. It is focusing on the development of’high nickel’ cathode materials that maximize energy density by increasing the nickel content. LG Energy Solutions”Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum (NCMA)’, which lowers the proportion of cobalt with high price volatility and increases output by adding aluminum, and Samsung SDI’s’NCA’, which puts aluminum instead of manganese, are representative examples.
LG Energy Solutions will supply NCMA batteries to customers from the second half of this year. Tesla’s’Model Y’will be equipped with this battery. By lowering the cobalt ratio to 5% and increasing the nickel content to 90%, it is possible to drive over 600km with a single charge.
Samsung SDI also applies a high-nickel NCA cathode material with an 88% nickel content to the Gen 5 (5th generation) battery to be released this year. Samsung SDI has applied the same technology to the circular battery for power tools to verify the performance and mass production.
Each of the aforementioned batteries has its limitations. If the energy density is high, the stability is slightly lowered, or if the stability is increased and the price is lowered, there is a problem that the performance decreases.
The industry is spurring the development of an all-solid-state battery, a’dream battery’ that minimizes its limitations.
All-solid-state batteries are expected to improve performance and stability as the electrolyte, one of the three major elements of the battery, is solid. Samsung SDI set the target for mass production of all-solid-state batteries in 2027. In 2023 and 2025, it plans to complete small and large cell verifications, respectively.
LG Energy Solutions also predicted the commercialization time of 2028-2030. Foxconn, a traditional partner of Apple, also set the time to commercialize all-solid-state battery technology in 2024.
Apple’s entry into the finished car market is an opportunity to open a huge market for the battery industry. This is because the aspect that auto OEMs will expand with the appearance of Apple cars is a positive signal to the battery industry. It is also expected that the joint market between the automobile and battery industry will be more active.
In a situation where the auto industry is devoted to electric vehicle production, cooperation with the domestic industry is inevitable for the smooth supply and demand of batteries, which are key parts of electric vehicles. Tesla, Japan’s Panasonic, BMW and Samsung SDI are representative examples.
In response to the various speculations surrounding the Apple car, officials from the three battery companies agreed, “We will have to see how it will affect the industry.”
Obviously, the ultimate aim of the industry is battery process innovation. The strategy of the domestic industry is to increase quality and increase price competitiveness by introducing new processes to the battery electrode process and cell assembly process beyond the aspects of battery chemistry and design such as LFP and NCM.
Semiconductor for domestic vehicles is still in its infancy… Competitiveness must be raised through selection and concentration
It is expected that Apple will bring about a smart revolution like the iPhone in the past with an Apple car that added fully autonomous driving technology to an electric vehicle.
The Korean semiconductor and display industry, which has built a friendly cooperative relationship with Apple, has an opportunity to eat the fruit of a new high value-added industry.
In particular, Apple is expected to apply’Level 5 (International Automobile Engineers’ Association classification standard)’ autonomous driving technology to Apple cars, which controls all driving situations by itself without driver intervention.
To develop Level 5 fully self-driving cars, from’sensors’ that can quickly recognize the driving environment,’mapping’ that helps accurately recognize the vehicle location, and’mapping’ that can quickly store and process vast amounts of data collected from sensors. Core technologies such as’processor’ and’connectivity’ that control the driving route according to the road environment and provide various information necessary to the driver are required.
Core technologies must be secured first in the fully electric and self-driving car market, which will be triggered by Apple cars.
The problem is that unlike the domestic display industry, which has world-class technology, the semiconductor industry lacks the technology related to autonomous driving.
Since LG Display ranked first in the world with a 20.4% share in the automotive display market (including LCD and OLED) in 2019, it is widening the gap with latecomers with plastic OLED (POLED) that can freely bend and unfold the screen. Is not producing such achievements in the automotive semiconductor market.
According to market research firm Strategy Analyst, in the global automotive semiconductor market, major foreign companies such as Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Renesas, Texas Instruments, and STMicroelectronics account for 49% of the total market (as of 2019).
Samsung Electronics entered the automotive semiconductor market by releasing vehicle processor’Exynos Auto’ and vehicle image sensor’IOCELL AUTO’ in 2018 and supplying it to Audi and Tesla, but industry evaluation is that it still has a small presence in the market. .
In a recent report, the Korea Automobile Research Institute diagnosed as “the demand for automotive semiconductors is expected to increase rapidly due to the expansion of autonomous driving technology, but the domestic automotive semiconductor industry ecosystem is insignificant.” The report pointed out that “the automotive semiconductor industry is shifting from general-purpose products to customized products,” and that “the domestic industry needs to revitalize the industrial ecosystem centered on next-generation items such as application processors (APs) with potential competitiveness.”
As automobile semiconductors became electronic, the number of semiconductors in one automobile increased to 200 to 300. In the future, when the electric self-driving car market is activated, the number of applied semiconductors is expected to increase by 10 times to more than 2,000. In addition, the related market is expected to grow rapidly from $41.8 billion in 2019 to $55.3 billion in 2022 and $65.5 billion in 2024.
In Korea, Samsung Electronics is leading the way into some automotive semiconductor fields, such as AP and Telematics (TCU), but the foundation for the industrial ecosystem is still weak. This is why the automaker industry is highly dependent on foreign companies.
Ji-Hyung Lee, a researcher at the Research Strategy Division at the Automobile Research Institute, said, “We will build an industrial ecosystem (design → production) centering on APs, cellular-vehicle, and things communication (C-V2X) chipsets with potential competitiveness in Korea, and autonomous driving, a key future market. It is also necessary to challenge the AI semiconductor market.”
One thing to note is that Samsung Electronics is recently strengthening its non-memory semiconductor business, including automotive semiconductors.
In relation to autonomous driving technology, Samsung Electronics is continuously expanding its automotive semiconductor portfolio by developing the world’s first 5G-based telematics solution in collaboration with Harman and reviewing the introduction of a 5-nanometer-class vehicle foundry platform.
In the recent earnings announcement, it is mentioned that it will pursue meaningful M&A within three years, and there is also a story that Samsung Electronics will be engaged in M&A, centering on leading automotive semiconductor companies such as NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, and Renesas.
Samsung Electronics has the world’s second-largest competitiveness in the foundry market with its ultra-fine process technology as a weapon. Like the iPhone, Apple can strengthen cooperation with TSMC and Samsung Electronics as key partners in Apple Cars.
Related Articles
Changes in the automotive ecosystem that Apple Cars will bring… Total vertical
Is it an autonomous car? Is it OS extension?… Apple car two scenarios
Apple is compelled to make Apple Cars
Another ghost, the apple car, is roaming
An official in the semiconductor industry said, “Major automakers and automotive semiconductor companies are currently at the level of developing level 2~3 level autonomous driving technology.” “Apple cars to which fully autonomous driving technology will be applied are technically limited. It will come out.”
This official said, “As there is a lot of time left until the Apple Car launch, latecomers such as Samsung Electronics are expected to enter the market. In particular, Samsung Electronics has high-performance processor technology, which is the core of autonomous driving technology, so it is highly likely to grow.” Said.