About a week ago, it was reported that as far as companies who are interested in Nokia’s HERE mapping service, Uber had apparently lost out to the German carmakers who were able to outbid them. Now according to a follow-up report from The Wall Street Journal, it looks like the German carmakers are closer to signing a deal.
This deal could potentially be finalized in the coming days if everything goes according to plan, and if the reports are accurate, the German carmakers are expected to pay about $2.71 billion for the technology. This is a bit lower than what Uber reportedly offered which was said to be around the $3 billion mark.
Unsurprisingly neither Nokia nor the carmakers involved – BMW, Audi, and Daimler – offered to comment on the report. The report goes on to add that if the deal is successful, the carmakers are expected to extend their hand to other carmakers around the world, such as Fiat, NV, Renault, Peugot, Citroen, Ford, Toyota, and General Motors to help invest in the technology as well.
As we had mentioned in our previous report, it seems that the fear of tech companies such as Google, Apple, or even Uber getting their hands on the technology was too much to bear, especially if the car industry is expected to advance self-driving technology and other safety systems.