TomTom, a well-known brand of car navigation systems, has announced that it will end the sale of its navigation hardware. The reason for this decision is the dominance of map applications, with Google Maps leading the way.
Currently, most people use apps like Google Maps or Waze to navigate their journeys using their smartphones. However, just a few years ago, dedicated navigation systems were much more popular, and TomTom was one of the industry leaders.
The first TomTom Go navigation devices hit the market in the mid-2000s, and by 2007, the company boasted hundreds of thousands of active users in 15 countries. But now, that’s all in the past.
According to “Tom’s Guide,” TomTom has made the decision to completely halt the sale of its hardware. Initially, the sales restriction will apply to the USA and Canada, but a global discontinuation of sales is also planned. It is unknown how many products are still in stock in different regions, but there will be no new deliveries.
Some may be surprised by this decision, but according to sources, the job cuts that took place in June 2022 indicated that the company was heading towards discontinuing the sale of navigation hardware. TomTom had reduced about 10% of its workforce at that time, and those positions were not restored.
Even the introduction of the open platform IndiGo, which was supposed to be integrated with the digital dashboards of new vehicles, did not help convince customers. TomTom then boasted of many partnerships but did not disclose specific brands.
The introduction of subscription fees also did not yield the expected results, as Google Maps and other apps offer their services for free, while TomTom charged up to 200 zlotys annually. Now, the company intends to focus on developing navigation apps for iOS and Android systems.
Source: Tom’s Guide, own compilation.
The source of the article is from the blog motopaddock.nl