According to a new research report by Berg Insight, PND shipments in Europe and North America is expected to grow from 23 million units in 2007 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.2 percent to reach 53 million units in 2012. North America is forecasted to attain a higher growth of 33.7 percent CAGR while growth in Europe will slow down to 14.9 percent CAGR over the period.
“This year marked the definite mass-market breakthrough for PNDs in North America”, said André Malm, telecom analyst, Berg Insight. “As the European market is becoming saturated, the US market will take over as the primary growth market for navigation.”
The report highlights online connectivity as an emerging trend in the navigation business. “PNDs face intense competition from handset-based navigation applications and voice services”, commented Mr Malm. “Next generation advanced features like traffic information and local search are interactive and require real-time communication. If PNDs do not have that, consumers will start looking for alternative solutions.”
