LG Electronics creates automotive R&D division in Vietnam

LG Electronics revealed on Thursday, March 9, that it has set up its automotive research and development (R&D) unit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The company has an existing R&D hub in the country, and this would be merged into the newly-formed subsidiary.

LG Electronics said it has formed a Vietnamese unit to boost its research and development center in the region while also turning it into its local corporate entity. This is also part of the company’s plan to reach its goal of advancing its automotive solutions business further.

According to The Korea Herald, the new subsidiary has been named LG Electronics Development Vietnam, and it will now be overseeing the development and testing of software for in-vehicle infotainment systems, which is one of the key products in the firm’s vehicle solutions unit.

On Wednesday this week, the South Korean electronics company held a ceremony to mark the launch of its new unit in Vietnam. It was attended by prominent company and government officials from both countries. Some of the special guests during the event include Vietnam’s deputy director of the high technology department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Nguyen Le Hung; Lee Sang Yong, senior vice president of R&D at LG’s vehicles solution unit; and Oh Young Ju, South Korea’s ambassador to Vietnam.

“We will continue to provide mobility solutions that deliver differentiated value to our global auto industry customers,” Lee Sang Yong said in a press release. “By boosting our infrastructure to the next level, LG will continue to further enhance our capabilities and develop next-generation, innovative mobility solutions.”

Finally, for its new Vietnamese R&D unit, LG Electronics will hire new workers as it aims to increase the number of its skilled staff, from the current 750 to 1,000, by the year 2024. The company first opened its R&D hub in Hanoi in 2016, and a second location was set up in 2020 in Da Nang.