Tesla in talks with Mando for self-driving cars: report

Korean parts-maker Mando Corp. has partnered with Tesla Motors to jointly develop key technologies for the automaker’s future autonomous vehicles, according to local reports Monday.

Mando began developing fail-safety technologies for the U.S. electric carmaker’s autonomous vehicles in the second half of last year, Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

The fail-safety technology allows a car to continue its self-driving mode even in times of emergency without requiring drivers to take the control of the vehicle.

The local parts maker was reportedly chosen over other global competitors -- including Bosch, Continental and TRW -- who expressed interest in the partnership.

“Although Mando’s technology is still behind other global parts-makers, Tesla can save costs for the mass production of its budget Model 3 slated to be rolled out in the near future,” an industry source told The Korea Herald.

Mando’s spokesperson Park Tae-joon, however, denied the report.

“Although we are in talks, it does not mean that we are working on the automaker’s autonomous vehicles,” he said citing a nondisclosure agreement with Tesla.

Mando reportedly hired around 100 senior engineers from global parts makers such as Bosch and Continental, and also global research centers located in the U.S. and Germany for the partnership with Tesla.

The local parts-maker is the largest company of its kind in South Korea. It has been supplying its products to many global automakers including General Motors, Cadillac, Ford, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Volkswagen and BMW.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)