LG vows to become global automotive electronics leader by 2030

Employees of LG Electronics look at a photo exhibition shedding light on the company's vehicle component solutions (VS) unit's 10-year history, at LG Science Park in Seoul, Wednesday. The company said Thursday that it will become a leader in the global automotive electronics market by 2030. Courtesy of LG Electronics

By Baek Byung-yeul

LG Electronics has vowed to become a global leader in the automotive electronics market at a time when demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles continues to increase, the company said Thursday.

LG said this year marked the 10th anniversary of its vehicle component solutions (VS) unit, which supervises the in-vehicle infotainment system business, in 2013. The VS unit showed disappointing results in the early years, but it succeeded in turning a profit in 2022 and has become a solid profit source for the company, which has turned its focus toward selling home appliances.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the VS unit, the company held a photo exhibition at LG Science Park in Seoul, for two days on Wednesday and Thursday, shedding light on the history of how it became a strong player in the in-vehicle infotainment system market.

Infotainment systems are a key part of EVs, providing drivers and passengers with a variety of driving-related information and entertainment features at the same time. The VS unit achieved 8.649 trillion won ($6.59 billion) in sales and 169.6 billion won in operating profit in 2022, showing the results of a decade of investment and efforts to upgrade its business.

LG added the unit's order backlog touched 80 trillion won as of the end of 2022 and the figure continues to expand.

The company's infotainment system business is comprised of telematics and audio-video-navigation (AVN). According to data from market research company Strategy Analytics, LG's telematics business led the global market with a 22.4 percent share in the first quarter of 2023. Its AVN business has also held a double-digit share in the global market since 2021.

“The VS unit has a strong business structure, having turned profitable last year,” Eun Seok-hyun, head of LG's VS unit, said during a commemoration event at LG Science Park. “We will become a global leader in the automotive electronics business leading the future era of EVs and autonomous vehicles.”

In addition to the VS unit, LG is expanding its presence in the global auto parts market based on the steady growth of the VS unit as well as LG Magna e-Powertrain, a joint venture producing powertrains for EVs and its Austrian automotive light-making affiliate ZKW, as they are considered key technologies for future mobility technologies such as EVs and autonomous vehicles.