South Korea needs to step up efforts to develop connected car technology and its standardization in order to not lag behind global competition in the fast growing industry, a report suggested Sunday.
"The competitiveness in the technology standardization will lead to market domination in the connected car industry just like the case of smartphones," the report released by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade said.
The report said the market size of the connected cars will reach 112 trillion won ($100 billion) by 2019, forecasting about 55 percent of all vehicles will be connected to the Internet by 2020.
(Yonhap)
"IT firms should establish cooperative networks with carmakers to actively develop related technologies and standardize them," it said, calling on the government to deregulate for the expansion of the connected car industry and provide financial assistance.
The report expected the expansion of connected cars will birth new services based on the global positioning system and other traffic information.
Connected cars will also provide new business opportunities for the IT, content, insurance, finance and public service industries, the report said.
In a related move, Naver Corp., South Korea's top Internet portal operator, said recently it will soon showcase AI-based self-driving technologies and an infotainment platform for connected cars.
Naver, the country's first IT firm with level-three autopilot technology, has recently unveiled a prototype of its In-Vehicle Infotainment platform, known as IVI, which operates on a voice assistant-based user interface.
The platform allows users to enjoy Naver map and navigation services through the voice assistant program.
Samsung Electronics Co. said earlier this month it became a member of the board of directors for the 5G Automotive Association, in line with its move to tap deeper into the next-generation automobile industry.
5GAA, which has carmakers and mobile carriers as members, focuses on developing and commercializing self-driving automobiles powered by fifth-generation network technology.
Samsung also said it will speed up cooperation with Harman International Industries, a US automotive firm that was acquired by the South Korean tech giant earlier, to speed up the development of the connected car technology based on international standards. (Yonhap)