Maps and navigation software while useful on our phones, are just as useful when embedded into a car’s infotainment unit. This is why it does not come as a complete surprise to learn that German automakers such as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz are said to be eager to acquire Nokia’s HERE maps service, which last we heard was being planned to be sold.This is according to a report from The Wall Street Journal who claims that these companies are gearing up to make a bid on it. The companies have formed a consortium which also includes China’s Baidu and are said to be getting ready to bid more than 2 billion EUR for the Finnish company’s mapping service.
This is an odd alliance of sorts especially since they are rivals in the automotive industry, but apparently these companies are more worried about what tech companies might do with the technology that they have decided to put their rivalry aside. According to one of their sources, “The greatest threat to the automobile industry would be if Google developed an operating system for self-driving cars and made it available free to everyone. We need the map for the operating system in the cars.”
Prior to this, there were rumors that Nokia was eyeing companies such as Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and other tech firms as potential buyers of its technology. Who the technology ends up with remains to be seen, but hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
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