Declining System Costs to Offer Growth Impetus in the North American Automotive Navigation Systems Market

PALO ALTO, Calif.--The North American automotive navigation system market's robust growth rate, irrespective of high system prices currently, is a testament to the strong consumer demand for value-added navigation systems. This is generating rational optimism in the navigation industry regarding the long-term revenue generation potential offered by these systems.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (www.automotive.frost.com), Analysis of North American Automotive Navigation Systems Market, finds that the market earned revenues of approximately $1.98 billion in 2006 and estimates this to reach $4.64 billion in 2013.

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“The declining unit price of navigation systems is driving demand in the OE and aftermarket segments,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Rahul Ganju. “Price reductions are being brought about by high rates of product innovation and greater economies of scale.”

This is resulting in increasing affordability and a better performance-price ratio, thereby generating substantial demand for navigation system products in both the OE and aftermarket segments. In addition, with falling prices, automakers are offering systems more widely; this is expected to drive significant growth in the OE hardware side of the market. With the increase in production volumes, per-unit prices are set to decrease further, thus making navigation systems affordable for mid-market vehicle buyers as well.

Aftermarket navigation system prices are comparatively lower, which is spurring growth in this segment. However, the dedicated portable navigation device (PND) aftermarket expects to have high growth only until 2010, after which it will eventually morph. This expects to occur as a result of the increasing availability of navigation on innovative and lower-priced substitute products such as cell phones, smart phones and PDAs.

Currently, the high cost of navigation systems continues to remain a major challenge that is responsible for the fairly low installation rates in the OE market. Moreover, while prices are significantly lower in the PND aftermarket, these devices lack the “factory look” and are not integrated into vehicles.

“This challenge offers growth opportunities to system manufacturers that have developed technology platforms that are forward compatible, and feature high-system and architecture integration,” explains Ganju. “To achieve economies of scale, market participants will need to focus on hardware integration, develop strategic partnerships with key value-chain participants, induce technical innovations, and reduce costs and redundancies to bring down prices rapidly.”

Strategies aimed at incorporating low-cost outsourcing, partnerships with technology leaders and content providers, and the development of flexible and easily upgradeable technology platforms are expected to provide growth impetus.

Analysis of North American Automotive Navigation Systems Market is part of the Automotive and Transportation Growth Partnership Service, which also includes research on the North American passenger vehicle telematics market, standard platforms for telematics, navigation and infotainment in North America, and the North American Class 6-8 Truck OE safety systems market. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

Analysis of North American Automotive Navigation Systems Market

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