pwijsneus schreef op 5 oktober 2018 17:30:
Opiniestuk in de Financial Times;
TomTom: off the mapSat-nav pioneer reaches fork in road as competition heats upTomTom put an end to countless rows over map-reading. The Dutch satellite navigation pioneer found its own way out of tight spots too. When its consumer business was hit by the take-off of smartphones a decade ago, it switched to supplying built-in dashboard devices to carmakers. More recently, it has focused on the high-definition maps that will guide self-driving cars. But as Silicon Valley pushes for more control over mapping technology, competition is intensifying. TomTom’s way forward is unclear.
The company has not hit a dead end yet. Deals with carmakers BMW and Peugeot for its digital maps and traffic information were unveiled at this week’s Paris Motor Show. Its share price was buoyed in late September by talk of a sale of its profitable telematics unit, which helps businesses manage their fleets. This might be worth as much as €1bn, based on Verizon’s 2016 acquisition of rival Fleetmatics Group. Given TomTom’s market capitalisation of €1.8bn — down more than 75 per cent from its 2007 peak — the rest of the business looks an inexpensive bet on the navigational technology of the future.
But can a European minnow compete with Silicon Valley giants? In June, TomTom’s shares fell on news that Apple was rebuilding its map app with its own data. September brought unwelcome news that Renault, in alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, planned to use Google’s operating system and maps on its dashboards. That knocked TomTom’s share price by nearly a quarter in just one day.
Other carmakers might well follow Renault in giving drivers easy access to voice-controllable calls, messages, and music. Yet they should be wary. Fears that the tech sector could monopolise the data prompted VW, BMW and Daimler to stump up €2.8bn in 2015 for Here, Nokia’s digital mapping business.
TomTom has reached a fork in the road. Despite saying in March it was not up for sale, its best hope might be a similar deal to Nokia’s. Otherwise, it may end up navigating its own decline.
www.ft.com/content/178a17ca-c757-11e8...