Germany's luxury automakers buy Nokia's maps - Venture Capital Post
The trio, which agreed to pay Nokia €2. 8 billion or $3. 07 billion, will have an equal stake in HERE. This is the first time that the world's three biggest luxury carmakers are teaming up to become service providers. Uber was among the German consortium's competitors in the auction process, which began after Nokia agreed last April to buy French competitor Alcatel-Lucent. With the service now fully under their control, the trio hopes to offer differentiated and brand-specific services, luring customers away from their high-tech rivals. Bloomberg reports the market for auto mapping solutions could surge sixfold to €180 billion ($197 billion) in five years' time. The trio will reportedly invite other automakers including Ford, Toyota, and General Motors to invest in the mapping service. In the future, real-time maps and location-based services will be the basis for autonomous driving, and with Google testing its own self-driving cars, smart vehicles are seen as the next big thing in the auto industry. Source: www.vcpost.com
