Demand for in-dash car GPS (global positioning system) navigation devices is expected to rise, and experts predict that all high-end cars with a price tag beyond Rs 10 lakh will start hitting the Indian roads with these navigation-cum-entertainment systems by 2011.
To cash in on this propelling demand, which is expected to compel car manufacturers to have this as an integrated solution in every vehicle that they roll out, domestic navigation and GPS solutions providers are gearing up to launch their high-end in-car navigation devices shortly.
“Around 15 per cent of all car sales goes with GPS globally and the Indian market is no different, which holds promise for in-dash navigation systems. Consumers now want car GPS navigation to be an integrated solution, complete with full-fledged entertainment features and not just a navigation device that only guides them to the location of their choice,” says Amit Kishore Prasad, founder, managing director and chief executive of SatNav Technologies.
The company, earlier a part of Satyam Computer Services Limited before being spun off into a separate entity in 2004, is currently testing its in-dash car navigation device – which will offer features like DVD player, radio, reverse gear camera, audio player, secure digital (SD) card adapter in addition to GPS navigation – on about a dozen cars.
Echoing similar views is Rakesh Verma, managing director of MapmyIndia: “Over 30 million GPS navigation devices are sold annually, both after-market and factory-installed, and India is really at the starting point for this, which is expected to catch on in a couple of years. From a consumer's standpoint, he would like to have GPS navigation built-in to the dashboard of his car, or have a portable PND which he can place in his car. If you look at the mature markets like the US and Japan, in-dash and PND navigation have succeeded as they truly deliver on the user expectation for high-quality focused navigation.”
According to both Prasad and Verma, best quality maps, bundling of these devices in cars by the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and a wider retail network hold key for the growth of this segment.
At present, SatNav’s maps cover over 200 cities and 1.5 million points of interest (PoIs) including destinations like ATMs, hospitals, schools and malls, while MapmyIndia’s current release, version 3.0, provides one million PoIs covering 401 cities at street level. While SatNav’s devices are currently available at all the large format retail chains across the country like HCL Digilife, Reliance Digital and Reliance Autozone, MapmyIndia sells its products in over 500 retail outlets across the country including car dealerships and car accessory outlets.
“We are currently negotiating with one of the leading manufacturer in the world for churning out our in-dash car navigation devices, which will be rolled out soon. We have tentatively priced the product at Rs 25,000. We see a great potential for in-dash devices and will be launching a couple of models to start with. We will base the future expansion on the growth of this segment. Though it is difficult to predict any sales numbers now, we could start off as small as 1,000 units in the first year and will scale up in the next couple of years,” says Prasad.
MapmyIndia is already a General Motors’ genuine accessory as well as sells through Ford. “We are currently supporting all the leading in-dash navigation hardware providers and car OEMs in their development projects, which are under way. Pricing is a function of whether these systems come built-in to the car or whether they are a dealer/after-market option. These car companies will make their own announcement shortly,” adds Verma.
