ViaMichelin May Sell PND Biz to Navigon
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 1/24/2008
Boulogne, France — Via Michelin, which is exiting the personal navigation device (PND) market after a year of sales in the U.S., said it is in discussions with Navigon to sell its assets to the German-based PND maker.
Via Michelin said no agreement has been reached with Navigon.
The company announced earlier this week that it will cease supplying PNDs after this year. “We will not be developing a new line in 2008,” said a ViaMichelin spokeswoman. Instead, the company which runs Europe’s leading online travel Web site, said it will concentrate on expanding that service into cellular phones, and portable and in-car GPS.
Via Michelin has sold PNDs in Europe and offered low end PNDs in the U.S., mainly through online retailers including Amazon.com, Buy.com, Tigerdirect.com and Costco.com.
Navigon has been selling PNDs in the U.S. for less than a year, and recently achieved the number 5 slot in PND market share for the fourth quarter, with 4 percent of U.S. unit sales to consumers, according to the NPD Group.
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