[myavu]

Audi, BMW and Daimler to Buy Nokia Mapping Service

A group of German auto makers agreed to pay slightly more than €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) for Nokia’s digital mapping service, prevailing over Silicon Valley bidders in a battle for a key enabling technology for self-driving cars.

German luxury car makers Audi, a unit of Volkswagen AG , Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG , and BMW AG have agreed in principle to purchase the telecommunications group’s digital mapping service Nokia Here, according to a person familiar with the situation.

If a deal is struck, which isn’t yet certain, the German auto makers plan to invite other automotive companies such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Renault SA, PSA Peugot Citroën, Ford Motor Co. , Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. to invest in Nokia Here, two people familiar with the situation said.

“The goal has always been to run the service as an open platform for everyone,” one person said. “The final signing could take place in the next few days.”

Nokia Here generated more than half its €970 million in 2014 sales from the auto industry, and the rest from location-based services. The deal price might be less than Nokia hoped to achieve. Nokia built the business out of Navteq, a mapping service that it bought in 2008 for $8.1 billion.

If this is true, then it is music to ears. Here Maps in my Lumia is so accurate and one can download the Maps for any country for free and use them without any data/internet connection. Just imagine all future AVNs preloaded with HERE Maps.

Something looks puzzled is that Nokia selling it for mere 2.7b when they actually bought it for 8.1b. Microsoft should have bought it along Lumias.

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/german-car-makers-audi-bmw-and-daimler-to-buy-nokia-here-1437493575

Cheers!

Vinu

[GTO]

Originally Posted by myavu

Here Maps in my Lumia is so accurate and one can download the Maps for any country for free and use them without any data/internet connection. Just imagine all future AVNs preloaded with HERE Maps.

Nokia HERE also got over 50% of BHPian votes in a poll that had 10 map options - related thread. Importantly, it ranked ahead of Google Maps!

[super.cars]

I hope the German buyers don't spoil the Nokia HERE maps just like how Microsoft spoiled the Nokia Lumia

[Contrapunto]

Originally Posted by myavu

Something looks puzzled is that Nokia selling it for mere 2.7b when they actually bought it for 8.1b. Microsoft should have bought it along Lumias.

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/german-car-makers-audi-bmw-and-daimler-to-buy-nokia-here-1437493575

Well Microsoft has been making its own moves http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/29/ube.../#.ghdscq:w3z4

This is an interesting one. Uber "weans" itself off Google Maps, and Microsoft gets search revenue and a foot in the game from a non-conventional, but increasingly important, and definitely disruptive force in the automotive world (i.e. Uber). As a strategy, its simply different from the others who are either competing (as this article shows), or cooperating (Android auto, apple auto), or both.

There are multiple forces at play in the "auto" industry. However, at the core of it is a simple question- "Who Owns The Customer?". The car companies thought that they did, but if you let in the Trojan horse of Android Auto into your world, you will probably soon lose all control over your customer, and Google will monetize it all. You will be left as a commoditized provider of a bare-metal transportation platform. Which, of course, a threat the auto industry has woken up to, and is fighting back. This deal for Here maps is part of that, but of course, not the only part.

The next battleground will be over "connected cars". Cars that measure and store your every twitch of the steering, every spot you visit, and not only help you with your planning, but help predict service intervals, foresee possible faults, using predictive analytics and machine learning etc. Hell, whoever "owns" the customer can probably sell your driving telemetry to the insurance companies and help set your premium, as well as help price policies better all around (to the benefit of the insurance companies, of course).

There are many, many possibilities. And these are just the opening shots of a long and interesting strategic game. Watch this space !!

[myavu]

So finally from the horse's mouth.

Nokia completes next stage of transformation with agreement to sell HERE to automotive industry consortium at an enterprise value of EUR 2.8 billion

Nokia today announced an agreement to sell its HERE digital mapping and location services business to a consortium of leading automotive companies, comprising AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG (the "Consortium")

Read more here : http://company.nokia.com/en/news/pre...eur-28-billion

Cheers!

Vinu

[myavu]

Update

Nokia expects the sale of HERE to automotive industry consortium to close on December 4, 2015.

Nokia today announced that following receipt of all required regulatory approvals, it now expects to complete the sale of HERE to a consortium of leading automotive companies, comprising AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG, ahead of schedule on December 4, 2015. Nokia earlier expected the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2016.

Source : http://company.nokia.com/en/news/pre...ecember-4-2015

Cheers!

Vinu

[14000rpm]

Wonder who gets to keep Here Traffic Analytics in a consortium like this.
Last I spoke to a Nokia friend of mine in Helsinki, HERE is being offloaded lock, stock and barrel...including Traffic Analytics. having heard the possibilities of that tool, I can only wish it lives to see another day.

[Technocrat]

I am not sure which part of this news is surprising because most of the OEM navigation in American Cars (not sure about EU but I wouldn't be surprised) is/was already from Navteq which is now known as HERE.

Nokia is probably trying to sell off the Navigation business & a consortium of auto makers is buying it which would make sense as its in their best interest.

[myavu]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Nokia is probably trying to sell off the Navigation business & a consortium of auto makers is buying it which would make sense as its in their best interest.

Here Maps are one among the best in business and their off-line options are truly outstanding.

Cheers!

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by myavu

Here Maps are one among the best in business and their off-line options are truly outstanding.

Cheers!

You missed the point, HERE maps are already being used by Major OEMs so this deal is in their own interest. This has little relevance to how good or bad they are.

[myavu]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

HERE maps are already being used by Major OEMs so this deal is in their own...

But not much in Indian context. If Here ends up with these giants, then they will start appearing in lower models and other models of manufacturers whom they have some sort of business tie-ups. Yes the quality of offline mapping matters when driving to remotest areas.

Cheers