Tech companies are increasingly taking interest in the electric car market. Google is working on a project, so is Sony, and these days even Apple is being rumored to be working on something similar. Our favorite Korean company's component division, Samsung SDI, already has a foot in the door given its deal with BMW to provide batteries for the i3 electric car and i8 hybrid. To further improve its position as a supplier of battery packs for electric cars Samsung SDI has acquired Magna Steyr, the Austria-based battery pack division of Magna International.
As a result of this deal, terms of which were not disclosed, Samsung will acquire Magna Steyr's production and development sites as well as bring all of its 264 employees onboard. In a statement released to the media Samsung SDI President and CEO Namseong Cho said “The acquisition is a key strategic step for Samsung SDI to strengthen the competitiveness of our automotive battery business.”
Samsung SDI is expected to account for 8% of Tesla's battery supply in 2015 and it is believed to be negotiating for an even bigger piece of the pie. Panasonic is Tesla's biggest supplier right now and Samsung seems adamant to challenge its position down the road.
