- New agreement with Nissan increases TomTom share of satellite navigation solutions in the automotive sector
- Traditional built-in navigation systems losing share to stand-alone devices.Subheader
Amsterdam, 9 september 2005 - TomTom, a leading personal and in-car navigation solutions provider, has concluded an agreement with Nissan France to provide a TomTom GO 500 with the new Nissan Micra Must. TomTom's deal with Nissan is the latest in a range of agreements with the European automotive sector to make TomTom's easy-to-use portable satellite navigation systems available with new and rental cars, eroding the market share of dealer-fitted navigation devices.
"The Nissan Micra is a perfect fit for TomTom's target market," said Harold Goddijn CEO of TomTom. "Taken in combination with our other recent agreements with automotive firms, this deal will bring the benefits of driving with a TomTom GO to the attention of thousands of drivers who can now use the GO as soon as they leave the showroom or car rental counter.
"The shift from dealer-fitted to stand-alone devices is being driven by the common sense of consumers, who are now increasingly comfortable with what was seen as difficult to use, expensive and inaccessible not long ago," he continued. "The TomTom GO has all the benefits of a traditional dealer-fitted system, plus a number of extra features, such as Bluetooth hands-free calling, access to TomTom's personalised navigation services and seamless door to door driving across all of Europe. And the GO belongs to the driver, not the car - you can transfer it easily to another vehicle, which makes it a personally valuable extra."
The agreement with Nissan is the latest in a significant number which have been reached with different manufacturers in Europe, including Pan-European promotions with Opel and Toyota and country/regional promotions with Lancia, Citroen, Chevrolet, Smart and now Nissan. In addition, a deal to make the GO 700 available to car hire customers across Europe has been struck with Avis, and country-by-country deals are being rolled out with other leading manufacturers and car rental firms. The TomTom GO's availability as an optional extra with new cars has also increased significantly, and the company now has distribution and sales agreements with the majority of Europe's national car sales companies.
Recent figures from industry research group GfK show a flattening in traditional manufacturer-installed navigation system sales in cars and a simultaneous explosion in sales of stand-alone devices like the TomTom GO. Since the introduction of the TomTom GO in spring 2004, the European dealer-fitted navigation device segment, traditionally dominated by car stereo manufacturers, has grown by only 0.8%. Over the same period sales of stand-alone devices have risen by over 10,000%.**
* Source: GfK Group, August 2005 www.gfkcustomresearch.com
** Source: GfK Group, February-May 2005 compared to February-May 2004.
Over TomTom
TomTom NV is een toonaangevende aanbieder van persoonlijke navigatieproducten en -diensten voor de consumentenmarkt. Alle producten van TomTom worden ontwikkeld met de nadruk op innovatie, kwaliteit, gebruiksgemak en toegevoegde waarde voor de consument. TomTom biedt onder andere alles-in-één navigatieapparatuur aan, waarbij klanten het product meteen 'uit de doos' kunnen gebruiken. Daarnaast worden ook navigatiesoftwareproducten aangeboden die geïntegreerd kunnen worden met apparatuur van derden, bijvoorbeeld PDA's en smartphones. Het aanbod van producten en diensten van TomTom omvat onder meer de gerenommeerde TomTom GO familie van geïntegreerde navigatieapparatuur, TomTom Navigator software voor PDA's, TomTom MOBILE navigatiesoftware voor smartphones en TomTom Plus, een informatie- en dienstenpakket voor de TomTom navigatieproducten. TomTom werd opgericht in 1991 in Amsterdam en heeft kantoren in Nederland, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, de Verenigde Staten en Taiwan. De producten van TomTom worden zowel via een netwerk van top retailers in 17 landen als online verkocht. Voor nadere informatie verwijzen wij naar onze website: www.tomtom.com.
Voor meer informatie:
TomTom NV, Scott Johnston, Manager External Relations, telefoon: 020 - 8500851, e-mail: scott.johnston@tomtom.com of Monogram Communication Strategies (MCS) NV, Jeanette de Wilde, telefoon: 023 - 5628208, e-mail: jeanettedw@monogram.nl.