In the last few months, it seems like the only real news coming out of TomTom is in regard to business transactions, new partnerships and expanding of their mapping and navigation services instead of any actual GPS hardware or equipment. I’m not sure what spurred this change in the company outlook, but I suppose that you can’t debut new devices every week, right?
Anyway, in the last week TomTom has been in a partnership frenzy and has made four announcements about new business deals in Europe and Latin America. Rather than trying to expand on each one and bore you to death with empty quotes from TomTom officials, I’ve decided to just include a brief overview of them all in one post.
TomTom and Fiat Chrysler Extend to Latin America
TomTom and Fiat Chrysler have partnered together to bring TomTom’s embedded infotainment systems and navigation software to cars in Latin America. Easily one of the most popular brands in Latin America and Brazil, this partnership will likely bring a lot of exposure for TomTom in Latin American countries.
The UconnectTM Touch Nav 5″ will provide drivers with voice guidance, extended mapping and “TomTom’s market-leading core navigation engine” to Latin American drivers. This infotainment system was launched in Brazil in February with the new Bravo model, and roll out to other Latin American countries will follow later this year.
You can read the full press release here.
TomTom and SsangYong Motors Partner in Europe
TomTom has also partnered with South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company to bring more of its maps and navigation software to already connected vehicles. TomTom’s software will be included in the new Tivoli model which is expected to debut in Europe in May of 2015.
Services to be included are pretty standard for GPS automotive navigation such as turn-by-turn navigation, advanced lane guidance for complex junctions and TomTom Route, which provides faster routes that include actual speed data based on the road, time of day and day of the week.
You can read the full press release here.
TomTom Announces Two New LIVE Services Deals
TomTom has partnered with Kia and Hyundai to provide seven years of its LIVE Services free to customers who purchase specific vehicles in Europe or Russia. Both partnerships begin later this year, and will be included with the purchase of new vehicles for free. Vechidles that will have TomTom LIVE Services include 2015 models of the Kia cee’d, Kia Optima and the Hyunday Tuscon SUV.
TomTom’s services include TomTom Traffic, which includes routing and navigation based on several factors such as weather and traffic data; Speed Cameras, which provides locations of fixed and mobile speed cameras; Local Search which allows users to search a database of local businesses, restaurants and services; and TomTom Weather, which provides weather alerts in real time.
You can read the full press release here and here.
