The crucial role of navigation services, particularly in the future of autonomous driving, has led to a bidding war for HERE, highlighting the value of such businesses. Regulatory scrutiny of any deal involving HERE is likely. But the uncertainty over future access to its software has helped renew interest in TomTom: the Dutch company could be left as the only independent global map content provider of similar scale. TomTom covers about 44 million kilometers compared to HERE's 43 million kilometers, Morgan Stanley notes.
Entry barriers are high, and the next generation of maps needed to implement safety features automatically is even more dynamic and nuanced, requiring 3D features for example that can be updated in real time. HERE and TomTom have a lead over Google Maps in such technology.
There is some evidence (some evidence?? Volkswagen is het grootste automotive account dat je kunt winnen en Apple het grootste mobile account that TomTom is benefitting. Earlier this year the company renewed its agreement with Apple, which is also developing self-driving cars, and booked mapping contracts with Volkswagen among other carmakers. The trouble is that sales growth in automotive isn't expected until 2016 (Q4 2015 om precies te zijn en daarna forse groei. In dit artikel klinkt het alsof dat lichtjaren in de toekomst is) and actual profits could be several years away, Barclays reckons.