The recent acquisition of Harman International Industries by Samsung Electronics is expected to spur the global automotive industry’s move toward intelligent and connected cars, the Korean head of a leading German auto parts maker said Wednesday.

“Personally, I don’t think Samsung focusing on the automotive industry is a bad idea. I rather think it is an evidence of how innovative and dynamic the industry has become,” said Robert Lee, president and CEO of Continental Automotive Korea. 

Continental Corp., headquartered in Hannover, is one of five major auto parts makers and operates in 55 countries around the world. The company saw 39.2 billion euros ($41.7 billion) of revenue last year.

Continental and Harman may overlap in two segments -- in-car infotainment and the cluster businesses. But the German company has a more competitive edge as a provider of system solutions at large, connecting 30 different divisions that it has been operating so far, he said.

In particular, Continental has been focusing on developing virtual keys which it believes to be technology that will allow future cars to be operated in connection with information technology.

Continental, through its joint venture with D’Ieteren, has developed a mobile app to provide overall information on cars including its location, fuel and battery status, and driving distance.

The major role of the app is to shift the existing function of car keys to smartphones as well as smart watches, so that the IT devices can unlock cars by interacting with an on-board receiver through Bluetooth and near field communication.

The app corresponds to Continental’s smart assess system which it plans to commercialize before 2020.

“Continental has been holding a commanding position in car assess systems since it introduced the world’s first smart keys in 1998,” said Ohm Jung-woo, vice president of Continental Korea. “With the development of the virtual keys, car keys will be replaced by smartphones that produce and invalidate (physical) access to cars.”

The focal point of the technology is to promote the use of car sharing, which the company sees as a solution to traffic congestion and energy consumption.

“We believe that the virtual key is the center of sharing car technology. It would enable a number of drivers to share a car, making traffic flow more efficient in cities,” said Lee Yong-wook, head of Continental Korea’s body and security unit.

The auto parts maker is not in talks with local car sharing operators such as So Car, he added.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)