Where has TomTom gone? '

On to version 3.0 of navigation company'

Have a TomTom in the car.
This brand name for navigation is as common as ordering a chip when you want a sparkling water, or taking an aspirin when you take a painkiller. However, the company of the same name has disappeared from the view of ordinary consumers in recent years. What happened and what direction is TomTom heading now?

Edwin van der Aa 12-10-23, 19:00
When mobile navigation arrived at the end of the last millennium, it paved the way for many newcomers. TomTom was founded in Amsterdam in 1991 as Palmtop Software. In 2001, management changed the brand name to TomTom and co-founder Harold Goddijn took the helm. The company released software for satellite navigation in the car, the TomTom Navigator.

The first all-in-one personal navigation device, the TomTom Go, came onto the market in 2004. It was an immense success and a new category of consumer electronics was created. The first device was, according to the company itself, one of the fastest-selling consumer technology products in history.

What was the secret of that success with the general public? The user-friendliness of the devices and software and the smart marketing. Just like with Apple, just the attractive, colorful packaging and opening it was a treat. The quality and pleasure radiated from the product. Furthermore, TomTom was one of the pioneers with real-time traffic information, the reliability of which was high.

Analyst Wim Gille (ABN AMRO - ODDO BHF) described the company at the time as 'TomTom 1.0'. After the billion-dollar acquisition of Tele Atlas in 2008, the company transformed itself into a map maker, creating 'TomTom 2.0', according to Gille. And the quality of those digital maps has often been praised in the automotive industry.

The arrival of integrated navigation systems in the dashboard of cars caused the name TomTom to fade into the background for regular consumers in recent years, because the separate devices were put in the drawer. Gille calls this change of course 'a logical evolution'. "It doesn't matter to their business that they no longer receive social attention, the top is really not concerned about that."

Autojournalist Niek Schenk notes that TomTom has fallen out of the picture in that 'invisible market' in recent years. Schenk: “Nowadays you will find other suppliers in many new cars. Take for example the rapidly advancing Chinese brands, I have not seen TomTom in any Chinese cars yet. Some manufacturers (Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen Group) have also joined together in a new provider: Here.”

Infotainment

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According to the journalist, TomTom also loses out to companies that can supply a complete operating system for infotainment. "This is an important competitive advantage. There is therefore a good chance that Google - including Google Maps - will seize power in more and more cars in the coming years. The company seems to be well on its way to building a certain monopoly. TomTom is not participating in that area.”

Analyst Gille is much more positive about TomTom's prospects. He believes in growth in car production, which will increase company profitability and grow market shares. The analyst is also enthusiastic about TomTom's 'courageous' participation in OpenStreetMap (OSM); a free, open geographic database maintained by a community of volunteers. A kind of Wikipedia of navigation.

"On to version 3.0 of TomTom! We believe the new platform will enable the company to invest in new products and geographies while keeping its cost base under control.” The cash flow margin should improve significantly in the coming years, Gille concludes. “This platform is going to destroy Google Maps.”

TomTom has not responded to a written request from this medium to provide an explanation of the current state of affairs. The company will report its third quarter results today.

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pe1agp Reviewed by pe1agp on 14th October 2023. News about the TomTom company Where has TomTom gone? ' On to version 3.0 of navigation company' Have a TomTom in the car. This brand name for navigation is as common as ordering a chip when you want a sparkling water, or taking an aspirin when you take a painkiller. However, the company of the same name has disappeared from the view of ordinary consumers in recent years. What happened and what direction is TomTom heading now? Edwin van der Aa 12-10-23, 19:00 When mobile navigation arrived at the end of the last Rating: 5

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