South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. has been ranked the top among its local peers in terms of infotainment technologies but still lags behind other global competitors that include foreign automakers, a report showed Wednesday.

According to the report from U.S.-based market information firm IP Watchdog, the South Korean firm owned 3.9 percent of all infotainment-related patents registered in the U.S.


The figure marks the largest share owned by any single South Korean company but is the eighth-largest among all firms.

U.S. automaker General Motors Co. had the largest share of 21.4 percent, followed by German carmaker Porsche AG with 12.3 percent and another U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. with 9.1 percent of the total, according to the report.

Infotainment refers to a new type of media that provides both information and entertainment. Global automakers are increasingly installing new infotainment systems in their vehicles to enhance driver and passenger experience.

The latest infotainment technologies allow drivers and passengers to control all functions of the system, including the audio, GPS and even the vehicle's air conditioning system, with a touchscreen panel.

The U.S. research firm noted automakers were also ahead of electronics firms in terms of self-driving technologies.

According to an earlier report, South Korea's top automotive firm Hyundai Motor Group owned 170 indigenous technologies in the field of telematics, the world's second-largest number, while LG Electronics came in fourth place with about 70 related technologies.

GM again took the top spot with some 320 telematics technologies. Samsung came in sixth place with about 40 related technologies. (Yonhap)