Orbital's Magellan Subsidiary Forms $50M Joint Venture With Hertz
15 December 1998
Orbital's Magellan Subsidiary Forms $50 Million Joint Venture With Hertz
50,000 Hertz Rental Cars to be Equipped in 1999 With Magellan's
Next-Generation Vehicle Navigation Technology
DULLES, Va., Dec. 14 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation
announced today that its Magellan Corporation subsidiary, the world's
leading satellite access technology company, has reached an agreement with the
Hertz Corporation , the world's largest car rental company, to form
an exclusive $50 million joint venture that will oversee the expansion and
operation of Hertz' popular NeverLost(R) vehicle navigation system in rental
cars throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada. The Hertz NeverLost system
utilizes Magellan's satellite-based vehicle navigation technology.
The new joint venture will purchase from Magellan 50,000 vehicle
navigation and driver information systems for approximately $50 million.
These systems, which will use "next-generation" satellite navigation
technology, will be installed this coming summer in Hertz' rental car fleet,
including Lincoln Towncar and Ford Taurus models. The joint venture will also
install, maintain, market, advertise and set pricing for the new vehicle
navigation systems globally. Specific terms of the agreement were not
disclosed.
"Over the last several years, Magellan's vehicle navigation technology has
proven its value to the car rental industry. Our new joint venture with Hertz
will build on our prior success in this market," stated Mr. David W. Thompson,
Orbital's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We're extremely excited
about being the exclusive in-car navigation supplier to Hertz and expanding
the distribution of our new, advanced vehicle navigation and driver
information system," added Thompson.
Mr. Robert J. Bailey, Hertz Senior Vice President for Quality Assurance,
said, "The Hertz-Magellan joint venture is consistent with our commitment to
customer service and the provision of cutting-edge technology to our
customers. It is also an innovative means of rapidly deploying what is a
global technology. Hertz has been leading the industry in providing Global
Positioning System (GPS) technology for travelers since 1995, and our joint
venture with Magellan gives us technological superiority in the rental car
industry with regard to navigation systems."
These next-generation vehicle navigation and driver information systems,
developed and manufactured by Magellan, will be available in 1999 at Hertz
locations in the U.S., where the directional data base covers the 48
contiguous states, and at locations in France, Germany, United Kingdom and
Canada.
Manufactured by Magellan, which is based in Santa Clara, California,
NeverLost combines GPS satellite technology with dead-reckoning and map-
matching technology. Navigation Technologies Corporation of Sunnyvale,
California developed the NavTech(TM) Navigable Map Database used in the
NeverLost system.
To use the NeverLost system, customers simply input a local street address
or may choose from a range of destinations including hotels, airports,
restaurants and other points of interest. The new user-friendly route
guidance systems will provide easier and more detailed turn-by-turn driving
directions with increased data base coverage. Also, each unit will be
equipped with an Emergency Location Button, which immediately displays the
vehicle's exact location on the screen. So, if a customer requires
assistance from Hertz' Emergency Roadside Assistance service, they can easily
let Hertz know exactly where they are.
Magellan's new system also meets the needs of the global marketplace by
providing customers with the choice of six additional languages, including
Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Hertz' existing units
provide voice prompts in English only.
In 1995, Hertz introduced its Magellan-manufactured Hertz NeverLost on-
board navigation system in the U.S. Upon initial roll out, Hertz installed
600 units in its fleet at Hertz airport locations in Atlanta, Chicago,
Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and Washington
D.C. A year later, Hertz expanded this optional service by installing over
7,500 additional NeverLost units, bringing the total number to over 8,000
available for rental. Currently, Hertz offers NeverLost units at over 50
Hertz locations in 35 cities in the U.S.
Orbital is one of the largest space and information systems companies in
the world, with 1998 revenues of approximately $750 million. The company,
which is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs 4,200 people at its major
facilities in nine states and several international locations. Orbital is the
world's leading manufacturer of low-cost space systems and products, including
satellites, launch vehicles, electronics and sensors, satellite ground systems
and software, and satellite-based navigation and communications products.
Through its ORBCOMM and ORBIMAGE affiliates, Orbital is also a pioneering
operator of satellite networks that provide data communications and high-
resolution imagery services to customers all around the world.