Research Areas
- Automotive & Transport
- Building Technologies
- Business Process Solutions
- China
- Communications & Wireless
- Computer & Office Equipment
- Consumer Electronics
- Convergence
- Displays
- Financial & ID Technologies
- Industrial Automation
- Intelligent Video
- Lighting & LEDs
- Medical (InMedica)
- Power & Energy
- Security & Fire
- Semiconductors
Home / Press Releases / Communications & Wireless / The Future of In-Car Navigation
Press Releases
The Future of In-Car Navigation
Date: 16 May 2011
Wellingborough, UK – 11th May 2011. A newly published IMS Research report, “The Future of In-Car Navigation”, has highlighted two key trends in the OE automotive navigation head unit market over the next 8 years. First is the move towards offering embedded navigation solutions in mass market cars for under €1000; the report assesses how this trend will develop by region as the market matures. Second, it assesses the newly emerging market for connected navigation head units.
Until last year in Europe, factory-fitted navigation head units had primarily been a feature found in luxury vehicles, or chosen in mass-market vehicles as an expensive option. There has, understandably, been a huge demand for the much lower cost option of a portable navigation device (PND). Jack Bergquist, an analyst at IMS Research states, “With an estimated 12.8 million new PNDs sold in 2010 in Western Europe, it is clear that there is huge potential demand from motorists for a low cost solution for in-vehicle navigation.” Bergquist goes on to say, “However, until mid-2009 there wasn’t an embedded system widely available on the market to fill the void between €2000 factory-fitted units and PNDs that were readily available for under €150.”
The report highlights that possibly the most notable current event, in terms of unit sales of factory-fitted navigation, is an offer from Renault of an embedded navigation unit from the PND leader TomTom. This is the first mass produced, “low cost” embedded navigation head-unit to achieve wide uptake in Europe, with an estimated 500,000 units sold in 2010.
Although TomTom offered one of the first low-cost navigation head units in Europe, most vehicle manufacturers have since released, or are in the process of releasing, cars in their range with a sub €1000 embedded navigation head-unit option. Examples available at the time of writing include the RNS 315 navigation head unit from Technisat and Volkswagen, and the Touch and Connect head unit from Bosch and Vauxhall/Opel.
Figure 1.1 shows the forecast for global unit sales of low-cost navigation head units from 2010 to 2018:
The second key trend identified in the report is that of connected navigation head units.* On this basis IMS Research estimates that in 2010 2.3 million OE connected navigation head units were sold globally and that by 2018 these head units will account for 56% of global navigation head unit sales.
Connected navigation head units, such as BMW’s ConnectedDrive or Audi’s MMI, offer services such as Google search, live POI search, and detailed traffic information. With the release of TomTom LIVE in Renault vehicles and the eCall initiative gaining traction in Europe, it is expected that many new services will start to become available in both luxury and mass market vehicles.
The key to driving this uptake in Western Europe is likely to be price. Previous attempts to offer connected services in the region had limited success. The industry is very sensitive to this issue and all companies involved in this field are working on an array of business models to find a solution to the European attitude towards paying for these services.
The information in this press release is taken from the report “The Future of In-Car Navigation 2011”. This report provides a detailed view of the entire automotive navigation market covering fixed navigation head units, PNDs and GPS enabled cell phones.
* IMS Research classifies a connected navigation head unit as a unit with an embedded map and navigation function and a 2-way data connection. This connection can be made either through the user’s cell phone, or through an embedded modem. (In IMS Research statistics, systems such as Ford Sync or OnStar are not included in forecasts of connected navigation unit sales, as their routing services are off-board).
Contacting Us
Jonathan Cassell
Senior Manager, Editorial
jonathan.cassell@ihs.com
Direct: + 1 408 654 1714
Mobile: + 408 921 3754
Or
IHS Media Relations
press@ihs.com
Direct: +1 303 305 8021
About IHS Inc. (www.ihs.com)
IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of information, insight and analytics in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 165 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs more than 6,000 people in 31 countries around the world.
IHS is a registered trademark of IHS Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2013 IHS Inc. All rights reserved.