Volvo First to Adopt NAVTEQ’s Automatic Map Update Program: a Smart Move?
Posted Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:08:50 EDT by Dominique Bonte
On June 15th NAVTEQ announced Volvo as the first customer of its MapCare program. Model year 2010 Volvo car buyers in Europe, North America and Russia will automatically receive two updates for free, one per year, on their in-dash navigation system. Registration and shipment will be taken care of by NAVTEQ. An aftermarket program is also available to car manufacturers wishing to offer map updates to existing navigation users.
MapCare takes away much of the burden and cost of informing customers and handling fulfillment from the OEMs many of which have no formal map update processes in place because of this. This has been the main reason for the low number of map upgrades on in-dash navigation systems. A recent ABI Research survey revealed that fewer than 22 % of in-dash navigation users in the US have ever updated their maps. In contrast 42% of PND owners have updated maps due to easier PC-based updated methods compared to ordering DVDs. The wider availability of PND map upgrade subscription services from TomTom, Navigon and Garmin, though often only available at a high price, has also been an important driver.
NAVTEQ’s MapCare program will contribute to increased map update rates for OEM navigation allowing users to keep at least the most important component of in-dash navigation system up-to-date extending the lifecycle of OEM navigation and helping OEMs to compete better with PND vendors.
While MapCare is a laudable initiative, it does not address the fundamental issues involved with in-dash navigation map updates. What ultimately will be required is a seamless over the air incremental map update process which is completely transparent to the end user not requiring any intervention at all very much like what is already available on off-board handset-based navigation solutions. A plethora of barriers is standing in the way of this such as a lack of map standards requiring complex reformatting and editing for each map update and the absence of affordable in-car broadband connectivity. And by the way, a yearly map update frequency sounds very outdated for an industry boasting about instantaneous map corrections via user feedback and dynamic maps.
Another critical observation is related to the fact NAVTEQ’s MapCare program provides OEMs with an excuse not to establish their own customer communication and loyalty programs allowing them to remain stuck in an outdated one off selling type of business. One would like to believe that the emergence of connected navigation, telematics and infotainment would provide OEMs with the perfect framework to transition into a service based, loyalty and cross-selling business mode were ongoing communication with the customer is a key objective. Something NAVTEQ has understood very well: if the OEMs don’t move lets do it ourselves, taking ownership of the customer relationship and driving incremental revenues.
Another critical observation is related to the fact NAVTEQ’s MapCare program provides OEMs with an excuse not to establish their own customer communication and loyalty programs allowing them to remain stuck in an outdated one off selling type of business. One would like to believe that the emergence of connected navigation, telematics and infotainment would provide OEMs with the perfect framework to transition into a service based, loyalty and cross-selling business mode were ongoing communication with the customer is a key objective. Something NAVTEQ has understood very well: if the OEMs don’t move lets do it ourselves, taking ownership of the customer relationship and driving incremental revenues.