Nokia unveils its connected car platform: Here Auto
After years of being the auto industry's mapmaker, Nokia on Friday announced its intention to become a much bigger technological force in the vehicle. Nokia took the wraps off of Here Auto, an embedded infotainment and connected car system …
Context & Ripple Effects
Nokia had already moved beyond standalone map data with its Toyota Europe deal for HERE Local Search, placing its local-search service in more cars. Here Auto extends that automotive foothold into the embedded infotainment layer, giving Nokia a route to sell a broader in-car system rather than a single mapping capability.
First-order effects
- Nokia gains an automotive product that bundles its mapping assets into an embedded connected-car offering, expanding its role with vehicle makers from map supplier to platform provider.
- Toyota Europe and other automakers evaluating Nokia services can consider a broader in-car stack alongside local search rather than sourcing that function in isolation.
Second-order effects
- Nokia's automotive sales discussions shift toward integration and control of the in-car experience, making its existing mapping relationships more strategically valuable than stand-alone data contracts.
- Automakers that adopt an embedded platform give the platform provider greater influence over how navigation, local search and infotainment services are delivered inside the vehicle.
Third-order effects
- If vehicle makers increasingly buy integrated connected-car stacks, automotive mapping suppliers will compete for platform position and embedded distribution, not merely for data licensing.
- The connected-car market points toward software-defined in-car experiences in which the company controlling the embedded layer can shape which services reach drivers.
The trend: Automotive mapping is evolving from a licensed data product into an embedded connected-car platform with control over in-vehicle service distribution.