Halla Group to combine two self-driving business arms

South Korea's Halla Group, the parent company of automotive parts maker Mando Corp., will combine its two autonomous driving business units into a single entity to better respond to the growing demand for self-driving and electrified vehicles.

Unlisted Mando Mobility Solutions Corp., split off from Mando Corp. last month, will be merged into its wholly-owned subsidiary HL Klemove, formerly known as Mando Hella Electronics Corp., Halla Group said on Oct. 6.

The combined entity will kick off on Dec. 1 under the name of HL Klemove. HL stands for Halla, while Klemove is a combination of the words "clever" and "move."

For the merger, one share in Mando Mobility will be swapped into 2.76 shares of Mando Hella. The merger will not involve new share issues.

Mando Mobility took over Mando Corp.'s autonomous driving business, including advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), unmanned patrol robots, unmanned electric vehicle chargers and cloud servers that perform application- and information-processing storage.

HL Klemove produces self-driving systems and automotive electronic components such as control units and sensors. The company was founded in 2008 as a 50:50 joint venture between Halla Holdings and German automotive parts supplier HELLA. Earlier this year, Mando acquired the entire stake in the JV from both companies.

In July of this year, Mando said that it would expand its customer base for ADAS to global mobility startups and major automotive manufacturers in China and India where HL Klemove's production bases are located, as well as into North America.

Write to Jin-seong Kim at jskim@hankyung.com
Edited by Yeonhee Kim