Nokia and a consortium of German carmakers — Audi, BMW and Daimler — have signed an agreement that not only signals a new chapter for HERE, but also for all the industries that count on location-based services and the people using them.

In a world where more and more vehicles and devices are connected, maps and location technologies play a key role. That’s why the consortium wants HERE to continue to serve existing and future customers in the spaces, as we have been doing for many years. Consortium members will have three, separate roles: as investors, customers and suppliers of data. Their goal is for HERE to create value for customers, employees and shareholders.

What HERE does

As cartographers, we have long dreamed of creating the perfect map – one that precisely recreates the territory it seeks to represent. The truth is that the only map that can exactly represent the world would have to be the size of the world itself. Such a map, obviously, would be impossible to use.

This is, however, about to change. Today the people of HERE can represent the true complexity of the world with technologies like LiDAR. On the other hand, maps will no longer only be used by people. Highly automated cars can handle a map the size of the world. Actually, as we previously explained, they need such a map to get people safely and comfortably to their destination.

A powerful location platform for all

All carmakers are working toward providing amazing, new connected services, and only by collaborating and sharing data can we reach the critical mass to make real-time map updates a reality. No single carmaker can do it by themselves.

Furthermore, a map is not only about representing the world with the highest accuracy. The advantage of digital maps over their paper counterparts is not only that they can be viewed on a screen. Modern devices know where they are, thanks to GPS, and they can navigate you wherever you want to go, and even analyze traffic or commerce data to help businesses assess where best to open their next shop. All this, and many more applications, are our business, and we call it location intelligence.

The role of HERE mobile apps

Location data is critical for a broad range of products and services and we believe that simultaneously serving these different segments with maps will result in a virtuous cycle. By example, automotive customers will benefit from our strong consumer offering since they will be able to extend their product and service offerings beyond the car. Conversely, our strong presence in the majority of connected vehicles on the road will enable HERE to develop better services for consumer and enterprise customers. The more places we appear, the better everything gets for everyone.

HERE to stay

Today’s news means that, as ever, location is our business and HERE is our brand. But we have much more news to share in the coming months, so stay tuned!