LONDON--May 16, 2012: PND manufacturers are making the right moves as the in-car navigation market is forecast to rapidly diverge into smartphone-based applications and dedicated in-car solutions.
The total in-car navigation market is set to grow with a CAGR of 25.9% over the next five years, representing a strong market with plenty of opportunity.
Much of this growth is in the perpetually commoditizing smartphone application market, reaching over 395 million downloads by 2016. However, there will continue to be a place for high-quality navigation services and features, particularly as car OEMS begin to support connected services, enabling applications to leverage information about the car and the driver.
The other major trend is toward factory-installed navigation solutions. Factory-installed navigation solutions are set to overtake PND shipments by 2015, reaching 25 million units, illustrating the importance of this market. Both Garmin and TomTom have announced a series of design wins for line-fitted and semi-integrated navigation solutions. These are particularly suited to the mass market, mid-tier ranges, where the low cost offered by these solutions will be a big differentiator.
With the connected car and in-car telematics markets forecast to become a significant revenue generator over the next five years, it is vital for companies to use navigation as a platform on which to offer additional services. Although the total connected car market is multi-faceted, covering mandates, infotainment, cost saving applications, etc., PND companies should look to support a variety of these services in a low cost way, much like they did with navigation.
ABI Research's report, "Location System and Platforms Forecasts, Global," ABI Research Forecasts presents forecasts for in-dash, portable, and handset-based navigation systems and solutions for each region. It also contains current data on subscribers, revenue, and publicly-announced commercial carrier deployments for the location-based services (LBS) sector.
It is part of ABI Research's Location Platforms and Enablers Research Service ABI Research .
