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AMSTERDAM – TomTom, the Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker, said on Wednesday it will team up with Chinese digital map firm AutoNavi Holdings Ltd to provide drivers in China with real-time traffic information.
The service, called HD Traffic, will cover up to 30 of the biggest Chinese cities by the end of 2013, in a country where car ownership has soared, resulting in huge traffic problems.
TomTom shares jumped 16 per cent following the announcement.
The Dutch firm has struggled for months to overcome slumping demand in personal navigation devices, or PNDs, its best known products which are used by car and truck drivers, because many consumers prefer to use free or cheap navigation software as well as cooler gadgets like smartphones and tablet computers.
TomTom has tried to offset that trend by doing deals with car manufacturers, where its navigation units are built into car dashboards, and also sells real-time traffic services through its internet-connected devices and smartphone apps.
China overtook the Unites States in 2009 as the world’s largest auto market, but the rapid growth in car ownership has caused traffic nightmares in major Chinese cities, with Beijing expected to have 7 million vehicles on the road by 2012.
“This agreement is an important step in enabling drivers to save time and money when finding their way to destinations on the increasingly congested Chinese roads,” said Ralf-Peter Schäfer, Head of TomTom Traffic Product Unit, in a statement.
AutoNavi has a nationwide digital map database that covers roughly 3.1 million kilometres of roads and over 20 million points across China.
TomTom and AutoNavi formed a joint venture in China in October 2010.
 
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