Released on: August 22, 2008, 3:06 am

Press Release Author: Secured by Design

Industry: Automotive

Press Release Summary: Emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China
could lead future growth of navigation systems and telematics services, according to
new research from telematics consultants SBD. Although high growth is a common
factor, these emerging countries are very diverse with specific market drivers, says
Stephen Longden.

Press Release Body: The in-car navigation and telematics industry is undergoing a
dramatic period of change. New markets are emerging in countries such as Brazil,
Russia, India and China (BRIC) that are experiencing rapid personal motorisation.

The emergence of the BRIC countries as potential hot spots for navigation systems
and telematics services follows their dramatic economic growth in recent years. This
growth has seen the appearance of a new middle class with a high demand for private
cars.

As new motorists in Brazil, Russia, India and China buy their first vehicles they
are exposed to some of the downsides of motoring vehicle theft, traffic
congestion, getting lost, breakdowns and collisions. It is these problems that are
an opportunity for the navigation and telematics services industry to sell their
solutions.

The combination of fast growth in vehicle ownership, mobile phone usage, and
disposable income in the BRIC countries is a recipe that many navigation system
suppliers and telematics service providers expect to produce growth opportunities.
However, these markets are at a very immature stage and not much has been known
about the specific demands and features of each country, until now.

"While many of the BRIC countries share similar characteristics of economic growth
and immature markets, the specific conditions for navigation and telematics vary
greatly," says Stephen Longden, ITS and Telematics Specialist at SBD.

"Up to last year the Brazilian market for all in-vehicle navigation systems had been
blocked by legislation aimed at preventing driver distraction," he explains. "This
legislation has now been lifted and this is expected to kick-start the navigation
market in Brazil." This growth spurt will cover both embedded OE navigation systems
and Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs).

Legislation has also emerged as a major market driver for telematics in Brazil as
the federal Government has announced plans to mandate the installation of tracking
devices in all new cars sold from 2009. This new law is aimed at reducing the very
high levels of vehicle theft currently experienced in Brazilian cities. Many of
these thefts are accompanied by violence and firearms.

Once vehicle manufacturers have installed the stolen vehicle tracking systems in
their cars, other telematics services may piggyback on the technology, says the SBD
research. This should lead to a considerable market opportunity for vehicle
manufacturers, hardware and software suppliers and service providers.

The situation in India is very different to Brazil with the drive for the telematics
market coming from fleet management services rather than stolen vehicle tracking as
car theft is less of a problem. The vast size of India, severe traffic congestion
and the poor quality of much of the road infrastructure means that many truck and
taxi fleet operators need to use telematics systems to keep track of their
businesses.

While the Indian population has a much lower GDP per capita than Brazil, there is a
rapidly growing middle class of many millions with wage levels approaching that of
Europe. These affluent Indians live in the major cities, are highly IT literate and
are keen users of mobile phones. They are a strong customer base for mobile
phone-based navigation that is growing steadily within this market. PNDs and
embedded systems lag behind due to their comparatively high price.

The vehicle market in India is dominated by simple, small cars with few accessories.
In Brazil the market is more sophisticated with many vehicle manufacturers already
offering integrated PND solutions while the technology leaders are planning OE
embedded navigation systems

Although markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China all show growth opportunities
for telematics and navigation, the socio-economic drivers for this expansion vary
country-by-country, according to the SBD research. All of these factors

Web Site: http://www.sbd.co.uk/mediamenu.htm

Contact Details: Juanita Appleby
SBD
+44 (0)1908 305 107
jappleby@sbd.co.uk
www.sbd.co.uk