Bridgestone Europe buys TomTom Telematics in €910m mobility deal

The telematics business of data provider TomTom is to be snapped up by the European arm of Bridgestone in a €910m cash deal. Part of the Bridgestone Corporation tyre empire, Bridgestone Europe says the deal will speed up its “journey to becoming a mobility solutions leader in the region”. Bridgestone is making fleet solutions a “strategic priority”. In a statement, the company said: “New social, economic and technological megatrends are pushing the pace of change in the automotive industry and the fut
February 1, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
The telematics business of data provider 1692 TomTom is to be snapped up by the European arm of Bridgestone in a €910m cash deal.


Part of the Bridgestone Corporation tyre empire, Bridgestone Europe says the deal will speed up its “journey to becoming a mobility solutions leader in the region”.

Bridgestone is making fleet solutions a “strategic priority”. In a statement, the company said: “New social, economic and technological megatrends are pushing the pace of change in the automotive industry and the future of vehicles is connected, autonomous, shared and electric.”

Bridgestone has diversified from the rubber products for which it is best-known into data collection from sensors, data platforms and analytics.

It cites the “growing importance of fleets over individually-owned vehicles for transportation of people and goods” as the catalyst for the acquisition, suggesting that fleet owners require better tools to maximise productivity and minimise total cost of ownership.
Paolo Ferrari, CEO of Bridgestone EMEA, says: “We are now well-positioned in EMEA to accelerate our data-driven business, expand our fleet customer base and seize fast-growing, profitable opportunities in the automotive mobility industry.”

TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn said his company would continue to develop mapping products, “enabling faster map updates while lowering operational costs, paving the road towards autonomous driving”.

TomTom Telematics claims an installed user base of 860,000 vehicles, more than two-thirds of which are commercial. The company says it handles each day on average 800 million GPS positions, 3.3 million trips and 200 million inbound messages.

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Options abound for road weather sensing
    September 6, 2017
    Meteorological organisations invest millions in super-computers to crunch data for ever-more accurate forecasts but inherent unpredictability means that other methods of alerting drivers and road authorities to fast-changing weather and highway conditions are essential. For years, static weather sensors to measure factors such as surface water, ice or high roadway temperatures have been embedded in highways to provide such data. But that is changing.
    Read More
  • Options abound for road weather sensing
    September 6, 2017
    Meteorological organisations invest millions in super-computers to crunch data for ever-more accurate forecasts but inherent unpredictability means that other methods of alerting drivers and road authorities to fast-changing weather and highway conditions are essential. For years, static weather sensors to measure factors such as surface water, ice or high roadway temperatures have been embedded in highways to provide such data. But that is changing.
    Read More
  • Agero to sell connected vehicle services division
    August 19, 2013
    Agero has entered into a definitive agreement under which SiriusXM Radio will acquire Agero's connected vehicle services division in a deal worth US$530 million. Agero’s connected vehicle unit provides telematics services such as roadside assistance, consumer affairs and claims management services, for driver and automobile makers. The deal is slated to close in the fourth quarter 2013 and will enable the company to continue to accelerate the development and delivery of new services to enhance its leadershi
    Read More
  • Moovit, TomTom and Microsoft launch multimodal trip planner
    February 13, 2019
    Mobility as a Service firm Moovit has linked up with TomTom and Microsoft’s Azure Maps to launch a multimodal trip planning app. The companies say it offers users their options for driving a car to park at a station, for example, and taking a train before completing the journey using other modes such as bike. “With most jobs still residing in densely populated cities, the typical commute is becoming multimodal, requiring the suburbanite to first drive to a public transit stop and continue their commut
    Read More

Highlighted Content