South Korea is a very important market for future vehicle industries because it serves as a test bed full of “educated” and “uncomfortable” customers.
In the past, South Korea was seen as a major test bed for ICT and new Smart devices, now it is seen as a major base for vehicle industries. Global automobile makers such as Benz, BMW, Renault, Volkswagen and others are looking at South Korea as a major test bed to introduce new service models.
According to Mercedes-Benz automaker Daimler AG said “Korean market is so important for Mercedes-Benz because we will broaden our product portfolio available to Korean customers aimed at propping up our growth. Mercedes-Benz recently chose South Korea as one of test beds to develop useful services for vehicles along with Korean telecommunication businesses and phone manufacturers and carry out tests.
BMW is developing Korean navigation system and self-driving technologies by increasing scale of its research institute located in Korea. Volkswagen is also working with LG Electronics as its partner to connect Smart Home and vehicles.
IT Convergence and Connectivity are very important issues in future automobile industry. That’s why global automobile makers are focusing on Korea where IT Convergence and Connectivity based on information communication technology are spread fast.
