Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Navman
The skyrocketing adoption of mobile navigation solutions, including Google Maps and Waze, is forcing Navman to rethink the company’s long-term focus.
As such, Navman is leaving the sat-nav market in Australia, planning to focus entirely on dashcams in the long term.
Navman has long been an important player in the sat-nav market. The company’s devices are sold in New Zealand, Australia, and the largest European markets.
With consumers switching to Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, and other navigation apps, Navman says focusing on the products that generate revenue is the logical choice. The company admits that using mobile navigation software is more convenient today, especially thanks to the integration in Android Auto and CarPlay.
Navman will continue to offer products in Australia, but in the long term, the company’s main product locally will be the range of dashcams.
Customers who have already purchased Navman navigation devices will be provided with map updates until 2026. The policy applies only to products manufactured since 2020.
The company also says that its Australian division isn’t going to be targeted by any job cuts. All teams will continue to work normally, with the focus moving to dashcam and B2B businesses.
Navman admits that competing against mobile navigation apps has become increasingly difficult lately. The company says that its total sales include over 3 million navigators in New Zealand and Australia. In 2022, Navman barely sold 30,000 devices.
The growing adoption of the likes of Google Maps wasn’t the only cause behind Navman’s decision. The firm says the last few years produced additional challenges in terms of component cost and sourcing screens and chips. Eventually, producing sat-nav devices in a market where sales were collapsing no longer made sense in the long term.
Adoption figures for Google Maps and Waze are not available. Google Maps comes pre-loaded on Android, while Apple Maps is the default navigation solution on iPhones. According to the Google Play Store, Google Maps has so far recorded over 10 billion downloads. Waze was downloaded over 100 million times on Android alone.
Most mobile navigation apps also come with support for Android Auto and CarPlay. Smartphones can be connected to compatible head units in cars to mirror the navigation experience on the larger screens on the dashboard. As such, Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps can replace a dedicated sat-nav unit entirely.
More often than not, they also provide more advanced capabilities, such as real-time traffic information, incident reporting, and more frequent map updates. The new functionality ships more conveniently than a firmware update for a GPS navigator, as all improvements can be included in app updates delivered through app stores.
In many cases, GPS navigators require a connection to a computer to update the firmware if wireless support is not available.
Navman has long been an important player in the sat-nav market. The company’s devices are sold in New Zealand, Australia, and the largest European markets.
With consumers switching to Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, and other navigation apps, Navman says focusing on the products that generate revenue is the logical choice. The company admits that using mobile navigation software is more convenient today, especially thanks to the integration in Android Auto and CarPlay.
Navman will continue to offer products in Australia, but in the long term, the company’s main product locally will be the range of dashcams.
Customers who have already purchased Navman navigation devices will be provided with map updates until 2026. The policy applies only to products manufactured since 2020.
The company also says that its Australian division isn’t going to be targeted by any job cuts. All teams will continue to work normally, with the focus moving to dashcam and B2B businesses.
Navman admits that competing against mobile navigation apps has become increasingly difficult lately. The company says that its total sales include over 3 million navigators in New Zealand and Australia. In 2022, Navman barely sold 30,000 devices.
The growing adoption of the likes of Google Maps wasn’t the only cause behind Navman’s decision. The firm says the last few years produced additional challenges in terms of component cost and sourcing screens and chips. Eventually, producing sat-nav devices in a market where sales were collapsing no longer made sense in the long term.
Adoption figures for Google Maps and Waze are not available. Google Maps comes pre-loaded on Android, while Apple Maps is the default navigation solution on iPhones. According to the Google Play Store, Google Maps has so far recorded over 10 billion downloads. Waze was downloaded over 100 million times on Android alone.
Most mobile navigation apps also come with support for Android Auto and CarPlay. Smartphones can be connected to compatible head units in cars to mirror the navigation experience on the larger screens on the dashboard. As such, Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps can replace a dedicated sat-nav unit entirely.
More often than not, they also provide more advanced capabilities, such as real-time traffic information, incident reporting, and more frequent map updates. The new functionality ships more conveniently than a firmware update for a GPS navigator, as all improvements can be included in app updates delivered through app stores.
In many cases, GPS navigators require a connection to a computer to update the firmware if wireless support is not available.
Google News