The “Ready” digital cockpit for vehicles, jointly developed by Samsung Electronics and Harman (Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics)
Samsung Electronics will acquire the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) business of ZF Friedrichshafen, the world’s second-largest automotive parts company, for approximately 1.5 billion euros (approximately 2.6 trillion won) through its subsidiary Harman. Harman, the world’s No. 1 supplier of automotive digital cockpits, will lead software-defined vehicle (SDV) technology, which will be the core of future mobility, through this acquisition.
Samsung Electronics announced on Dec. 23 (local time) that Harman signed a contract with Germany’s ZF to acquire the ADAS business. Harman plans to complete the acquisition of the ADAS business by next year and finish the integration.
Through this acquisition, Harman plans to enter the automotive front camera and advanced autonomous driving assistance business in earnest to maximize synergy with Samsung Electronics. In the future, vehicles equipped with Harman’s digital cockpit and autonomous driving solutions will be connected to Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and home appliances to establish a “Home-to-Car, Car-to-Home” ecosystem.
Christian Sobottka, chief executive officer (CEO) of Harman, said, “We will actively support automakers’ transition to SDV by combining automotive expertise with Samsung’s information technology (IT) leadership.”
Samsung Electronics, which previously acquired German heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) company FläktGroup for 1.5 billion euros in May, has been accelerating its future business expansion by establishing a Business Support Division last month and completing its first trillion-unit merger and acquisition (M&A).
