LG Innotek struggling in China due to stagnant EV market, but sees a way forward in robots and self-driving cars - South Korea

LG Innotek, a parts manufacturer, expects its sales in China to reach 192.8 billion won (about 19.79 billion yen) in 2024, down 16.9% from the previous year.
The company's sales have been declining since 2022. The company has a factory in Yantai, China. It is the world's largest electrical parts factory and produces parts such as in-vehicle cameras, motors, and sensors.
An industry source said, "Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been stagnant recently, and the company's electrical equipment business has also been performing poorly."
LG Innotek's main customer is Apple, which accounts for 80% of its sales.
In the optical solutions business, which supplies camera modules, Apple's performance is having a major impact. Sales of the iPhone 16 series, which was released in the second half of 2024, are expected to be strong.
As a result, the company's operating profit for the October-December 2024 period is expected to fall by about 48%. For this reason, the company is expanding the proportion of its electrical equipment business in order to diversify its portfolio, but the demand for EVs is also expected to stagnate.
The company plans to fully expand its business in parts for self-driving cars from 2025 and also to materialize its business plan for robots.
In the case of the bot business, we will also explore new opportunities in the areas of camera modules and electronics."