Faced with competition from free mobile applications like Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze, TomTom is stopping selling its GPS in certain countries. Could this be the beginning of the end for the navigation giant?
Is TomTom, one of the navigation giants, approaching the end? The route planning software publisher is best known for its GPS navigation systems to be installed in vehicles. It must be said that, in the 2000s, its first TomTom Go, aimed at the general public, was a real revolution, offering a system that was safer, more reliable and more efficient than the good old paper maps, which then gradually took off. their reverence. But its GPS units themselves ended up being competed with, then gradually replaced by our smartphones, which include applications like Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze. And it is clear that they have several advantages, since they update automatically thanks to the Internet and provide real-time information on traffic, accidents, works and speed cameras. Also, due to declining demand and the rise of competing mobile apps, TomTom announced that it was stopping selling its GPS devices in the United States and Canada, as reported BNN Breaking.
TomTom GPS: mobile competitors too fierce
Today, Google reigns supreme in the online mapping sector with its Google Maps platform, with a market share of 70%, especially since it bought its biggest competitor, the Israeli application Waze – whose absorption by the Alphabet service also seems to be taking shape (see our article). The Mountain View firm can rely on a huge database and the very active Waze community to update them. The only other major player, Apple Maps, decided in 2018 to start all of its mapping from the beginning, after having for a time used maps provided by TomTom. A duopoly against which the GPS specialist is no longer able to fight.
Already in June 2022, TomTom was forced to cut 500 positions, or nearly 10% of its employees. And the situation does not seem to have improved since then, hence the decision to stop the sale of its GPS devices in the United States and Canada. The company will sell off stocks still available at certain resellers, but its devices will no longer be offered on the official website. As for customers who already own a GPS from the brand, they will be able to continue to benefit from technical support and software updates, although we do not know for how long. For the moment, no sales cessation is planned in Europe.
TomTom: the specialist does not let himself be defeated
But the specialist is not going to disappear from traffic for all that – TomTom, traffic, do you have it? It has also taken the mobile turn and offers a navigation application, TomTom GO Navigation, available on Android as well as on iOS – however, it requires a paid subscription, €3.99/month or €19.99/year – as well as the free TomTom AmiGO application and another dedicated to motorcyclists, TomTom GO Ride: Motorcycle GPS.
And TomTom doesn’t plan to stop there! A few days ago, the company formalized a partnership with the Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi. He also formed, with Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, the Overture Maps Foundation (OMF), a coalition aimed at giving developers free access to geographic data in order to compete with the hegemony of Google Maps (see our article). Not to mention that it has just launched a voice assistant for cars, with AI from OpenAI, in partnership with Microsoft. A page turns, but the adventure continues!