NavTech At Forefront of Market Growth for Navigation Products
13 October 1998
NavTech At Forefront of Market Growth for Navigation Products
ROSEMONT, Ill.--Oct. 12 1998--The next car you buy is likely to be equipped with a system that will do the navigating for you. Industry experts predict the market for in-vehicle navigation technology will explode over the next few years as sophisticated navigation systems increasingly become part of standard equipment on new cars and trucks. Like many new technologies, the market for navigation systems is growing as the technology's benefits become better and more widely understood.
"Our customers tell us that once they've driven with these systems, they won't ever drive without them again and they would definitely order a navigation system on their next car," says Denis Cohen, president of NavTech Europe. "With such fervent consumer word of mouth and with industry support increasing, we expect to see a sharp rise in the demand for these systems during the next couple of years."
NavTech is experiencing continued strong demand for its map databases, which are used by major automobile and electronics systems manufacturers for in-vehicle navigation systems in North America and Europe, as well as by Fedex and the US Postal Service for delivery and vehicle routing and Internet map search engines such as MapQuest and Zip2.
NavTech has developed and maintains detailed and up-to-date navigation databases for North America and Europe. Detailed coverage areas (DCAs) include nine regions in the US and European coverage and detailed street-level information across France, England, Germany, Benelux, Central Europe, Mediterranean Coast, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden and Spain. The database also has information for the major roads linking more than 200 of the biggest cities in Europe.
The overwhelming majority of car makers elect to use NavTech data in their navigation systems. In Europe, the Navtech database already drives navigation systems for car makers such as BMW, Porsche, Renault and Opel and will central to systems in Jaguar and Volvo in 1999. In North America, every in-vehicle navigation system contains a NavTech database.
In addition, premier electronics manufacturers, including Pioneer and Clarion, will launch aftermarket navigation products using NavTech in the coming months. These aftermarket systems will be available at popular consumer electronics and specialty mobile electronics stores. "NavTech sees a strong market trend continuing in these aftermarket sales with substantial original-equipment manufacturer penetration within the decade," said Cohen.
According to Michael Kujawa, senior analyst at Allied Business Intelligence, "Unit shipments if IVN systems will grow from current levels of approximately 90,000 in North America and 900,000 in Europe to between 4 to 10 million in North America and 7 to 11 million in Europe by 2004."
In addition to strong growth of the in-vehicle navigation market, 1999 will also see a move toward a universal CD-ROM format as more leading manufacturers of navigation products incorporate NavTech's SDAL suite of software component. NavTech's SDAL will make navigation CDs interchangeable between different manufacturers' products by providing the industry with a single-format solution that will simplify production, distribution and marketing of navigation systems, as well as make consumers feel confident about their investment in this technology.
About Navigation Technologies
NavTech is a global company recognized as the premier supplier of superior quality, continuously updated route guidance map databases for both North America and Europe. The NavTech database contains an extensive and precise digital representation of the road network that provides the depth, accuracy and coverage needed to enable turn-by-turn, door-to-door route guidance. Applications using the NavTech database include in-vehicle navigation products, fleet management systems, personal navigation products, web sites and online services, kiosk-based directions, advanced traffic and traveler information systems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
NavTech is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., with additional offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Best, The Netherlands. In addition, NavTech has a customer support center in Yokohama, Japan and more than 70 field offices and 950 employees worldwide.
Note to editors: For additional information on NavTech, please visit the NavTech Web site at http://www.navtech.com.
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