Following an initial announcement back in August, Germany’s leading three luxury automakers BMW, Audi and Daimler have completed their purchase of Nokia’s HERE mapping business.
The German trio are now majority stakeholders in the mapping company meaning it is no longer operated by Nokia. The HERE mapping service currently constructs its maps from over 80,000 data sources, many of which come from its 3D mapping cars. Additionally, it is continually expanding thanks to data generated by its users around the world.
Following Audi, BMW and Daimler’s purchase of the company, its involvement and prevalence in the automotive industry will increase dramatically. Already, the three German automakers have over 2 million vehicles running HERE’s various services and this will inevitably rise dramatically in the coming years. Even though they now hold a majority stake, additionally investors are being welcomed to join.
The mapping business will prove particularly important for the three automakers in its development of autonomous driving technologies.
Discussing the purchase, HERE president Sean Fernback said “The map is evolving into a live representation of the world, giving us a second-by-second view of our cities and road networks. Now we have the backing of three automotive companies which share our view that this map will be life-changing for people: it will power location services that improve mobility for people and enterprises, make driving safer and more enjoyable, and reduce emissions.”
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