LG Innotek said on the 13th that it signed an investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gwangju for a plant expansion and will invest about 100 billion won to expand production capacity for its new mobility business.
LG Innotek plans to use the investment to expand its Gwangju business sites by adding production lines for in-vehicle AP modules. The new plant is scheduled for completion in Dec. this year, and once the expansion is finished, the total floor area of the Gwangju business sites will increase to 97,000 square meters.
The in-vehicle AP module is a core automotive component equivalent to a computer's central processing unit (CPU) and serves to integrate and control vehicle electronic systems such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and the digital cockpit (a digitalized automated driving space). This is a new business area that LG Innotek has been pushing in earnest since last year.
With the spread of autonomous driving and connected cars, demand for in-vehicle AP modules is growing rapidly, but related production corporations remain limited. The industry expects the global in-vehicle AP module market to continue growing at an average annual rate of about 22%.
Since late last year, LG Innotek has been supplying in-vehicle AP modules to a global semiconductor corporations and is also promoting to secure additional customers. The company said it plans to use this investment to strengthen the competitiveness of its in-vehicle AP module business and accelerate its lead in the market.
Moon Hyuk-soo, chief executive officer of LG Innotek, said, "As the Gwangju business sites are a strategic hub that underpins our core business, we will make every effort to grow together with the Gwangju community and our partner companies and to create outstanding value for customers."