We've seen Google and LG team up in the past – the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 immediately spring to mind – but today we're hearing reports that the two's team-up could go a fair bit deeper than just smartphones. According to The Korea Herald, which spoke to various industry sources, LG has supplied Google with "four high-speed battery chargers" for the company's charging station. This means we could soon be seeing Google and LG work together on the development of the former's autonomous smart cars.

Google has gained a lot of attention thanks its development of smart cars, with numerous controversies surrounding the idea of self-driving cars. Not all are so hesitant to accept Google's vision for the future, however, and are excited to see what Google can do with vehicles after branching out from the realms of search and smartphone operating systems. For Google's part, it says that its self-driving vehicles have made it to 300,000 miles without an accident, and that's encouraging to say the least. The analysts The Korea Herald spoke to seem to be under the impression that Eric Schmidt's trip to South Korea in October of 2013 was when talks of a smart car partnership first began, so the two companies may still be in the early stages of hammering out details.


Indeed, it seems that LG isn't all-in quite yet, as the report claims that LG didn't actually manufacture the chargers it gave to Google. Still, KD Investment & Securities analyst Shin Jung-kwan says "More cooperation can be possible as both are newcomers in the auto field," and that Google may prefer LG over other, more established parts makers. Just as well, LG has expressed an interest in increasing production of car components, considering the recent moves towards smart automobiles. So, the desire from both companies is clearly there, and now it looks like the beginnings of a partnership are there as well. An interesting thing to note is that this partnership – should it ever evolve into something more – could push Samsung to get involved with Google's smart car projects as well. There's certainly plenty more to find out about this rumored team up between Google and LG, so stay tuned.