[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics will reportedly cease its auto engineering business this year.

The tech giant has been running the business for the past 10 years, designing and manufacturing car frames for carmakers.

Car companies in emerging nations including Indonesia and India are major customers of the Korean firm. 

The move is said to be aimed at quelling rumors that the company would jump into the automobile business in earnest.

Having set up a vehicle component division in 2013 after merging V-ENS, an affiliate of IT solutions firm LG CNS, the electronics firm has been ramping up efforts to grow car components businesses in recent years.

From battery to motor, LG Group affiliates roll out almost all components needed to build a vehicle. With the rising popularity of electric cars, many suspect that the electronics firm will produce an electric car one day.

“Such rumors on its own electric cars has been a stumbling block for the Korean firm to sign supply deals with carmakers,” a market watcher said.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com">wone0102@heraldcorp.com)