Sep 08 2005

Nissan France Deal Drives TomTom Expansion in Automotive Sector

• New agreement with Nissan increases TomTom share of satellite navigation solutions in the automotive sector
• Traditional built-in navigation systems losing share to stand-alone devices.

Amsterdam , 8 September 2005 –TomTom, a leading personal and in-car navigation solutions provider, has concluded an agreement with Nissan France to provide a TomTom GO 500 with the new Nissan Micra Must. TomTom’s deal with Nissan is the latest in a range of agreements with the European automotive sector to make TomTom’s easy-to-use portable satellite navigation systems available with new and rental cars, eroding the market share of dealer-fitted navigation devices.

“The Nissan Micra is a perfect fit for TomTom’s target market,” said Harold Goddijn CEO of TomTom. “Taken in combination with our other recent agreements with automotive firms, this deal will bring the benefits of driving with a TomTom GO to the attention of thousands of drivers who can now use the GO as soon as they leave the showroom or car rental counter.

“The shift from dealer-fitted to stand-alone personal devices is being driven by the common sense of consumers, who are now increasingly comfortable with what was seen as difficult to use, expensive and inaccessible not long ago,” he continued. “The TomTom GO has the benefits of a traditional dealer-fitted system, plus a number of extra features, such as Bluetooth hands-free calling, access to TomTom’s personalised navigation services and seamless door to door driving across all of Europe. And the GO belongs to the driver, not the car - you can transfer it easily to another vehicle, which makes it a personally valuable extra.”

The agreement with Nissan is the latest of a number which have been reached with different manufacturers in Europe, including Pan-European promotions with Opel and Toyota and country/regional promotions with Lancia, Citroen, Chevrolet, Smart and now Nissan. In addition, a deal to make the GO 700 available to car hire customers across Europe has been struck with Avis, and country-by-country deals are being rolled out with other leading manufacturers and car rental firms. The TomTom GO’s availability as an optional extra with new cars has also increased significantly, and the company now has distribution and sales agreements with the majority of Europe’s national car sales companies.

Figures from industry research group GfK* show a flattening in traditional manufacturer-installed navigation system sales in cars and a simultaneous explosion in sales of stand-alone devices like the TomTom GO. Since the introduction of the TomTom GO in spring 2004, the European dealer-fitted navigation device segment, traditionally dominated by car stereo manufacturers, has grown by only 0.8%. Over the same period sales of stand-alone devices have risen by over 10,000%.**

* Source: GfK Group, August 2005 www.gfkcustomresearch.com

** Source: GfK Group, February-May 2005 compared to February-May 2004.