inspirator schreef op 18 november 2014 21:35:
The continued focus on navigation and especially live Traffic and related services (such as online parking) are very positive for map makers such as TomTom and Nokia Here. We will write a separate report on all the key take-aways from the conference presentations and other talks with OEMs and Tier1s plus our take-aways from the Salon de l'Automobile (where we also talked to multiple OEMs and suppliers).
But it is clear to us that TomTom is well positioned to take advantage of the current trends. The launch of the new Multinet-R map is only the beginning. One of the scoops of the conference was that Volkswagen will start using TomTom Traffic for its newly introduced Car-Net, the brand name for all connected services for the VW brand. TomTom was forced to retract its press release relating to this contract win last week.
However, it has won the contract but was forced to await the official launch, which will take place next week. Car-Net will be available on the certain 2014 Golf models (so backward compatible) and all electric cars and will first be introduced on the new VW Passat after which all VW models will follow. VW has 2 infotainment systems and TT Traffic will be offered for free in the higher end while the base model will include a free period after which an annual subscription is required.
Conclusion & Action: The Telematics Munich conference showed that connectivity is high on the attention list of OEMs and Tier1s and that the services offered via connectivity rely heavily on maps and traffic playing into the hands of TomTom.
The conference has strengthened our view that TomTom has built up a competitive advantage because of the CPP and real-time maps but we will write a more elaborate report to discuss this in detail. The VW scoop (VW will use TT for Traffic) only strengthens this belief. Buy.