Navigation and traffic information company TomTom has made three announcements about new services that will be launched at Europe’s biggest automotive event, IAA Frankfurt, which runs from tomorrow to September 24.
TomTom has revealed that it has expanded its Traffic information service, launched a new service for the drivers of electric vehicles (EVs), and signed a new deal with Daimler. The company has now introduced its Traffic information function in Egypt, Morocco, Macau and Iceland, extending the service’s reach to 68 countries, with a combined population of more than five billion people.
The system offers up-to-date information on road conditions, such as traffic jams, roadworks and accidents, which can be used by drivers to find the most optimal route and avoid congestion, and is also used by cities and road authorities to monitor, analyze and influence their networks.
TomTom is increasingly providing Lane-Level Traffic, a feature that is critical to autonomous driving. Already able to detect traffic on different lanes at junctions, it can now also differentiate between traffic flow on high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and regular lanes.
Ralf-Peter Schäfer, VP for TomTom Traffic, said, “With rapid developments in autonomous driving and an increased focus on smarter cities, accurate and fresh traffic information is playing an increasingly important role.”
TomTom is launching EV Service, which has been developed to help EV drivers to make informed decisions about when and where to charge their vehicles, reducing ‘range anxiety’. The new service provides real-time availability for charging points, as well as other essential information, such as opening hours, payment methods, plug types and more.
The real-time availability information is sourced from market leaders in EV charging locations, and then intelligently fused with the TomTom Map. Because EV charge point availability changes throughout a journey, the information is updated continuously. The service will initially launch in Europe, with a geo-expansion planned to North America early next year, after which it will list 35,000+ charging stations with real-time availability information, globally.
TomTom has been chosen by Daimler as the maps supplier for its Mercedes infotainment platform in A, C, B and E Class vehicles in North America. Mercedes drivers will benefit from state-of-the-art information, as TomTom is the only global digital map maker with a transactional map making engine, combining large volumes of active and passive community input, with professional mapmaking sources, enabling the efficient delivery of high-quality maps with fast cycle times.
To view a brief video of the EV Service, click here.Â
