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

Related Content

  • June 17, 2019
    Battery bottleneck: EV roll-out at risk
    In order for the take-up of electric vehicles – a key part of the future mobility mix - to grow, we need batteries. And that might prove tricky, reports Graham Anderson Industry and commodities experts fear that the growth in electric vehicles (EVs) could be much slower than predicted due to bottlenecks in global battery market supply chains. “People seem to think that the switch from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles just means you plug your car in rather than fill it with petrol,” a
    Read More
  • June 28, 2018
    Goodyear showcase intelligent tyre prototype at Geneva Motor Show
    Goodyear has unveiled an information system that includes a tyre, sensors and cloud-based algorithms. The intelligent tyre prototype is designed with the intention of providing continuous connectivity and real-time data sharing for safer and more cost-efficient mobility. The sensors on the shared mobility product solution work with the vehicle and third-party information to provide real-time data to Goodyear’s proprietary algorithms. It delivers information on tyre ID and status including wear, temperature
    Read More
  • October 23, 2015
    Telematics helps UK haulier slash speeding
    UK haulier KBC Logistics, which operates a 120-strong fleet of 44-tonne articulated trucks, has introduced a risk management initiative underpinned by Webfleet, the TomTom Telematics fleet management platform, which it says has helped improve the safety of its drivers by cutting instances of speeding by 95 per cent. The OptiDrive 360 indicator in Webfleet scores drivers based on a range of key performance indicators and KBC are using daily colour-coded (red, amber, green) reports to help identify areas f
    Read More
  • November 16, 2015
    TomTom to provide Uber with maps and traffic data
    TomTom has signed a global, multi-year agreement to provide maps and traffic data for the Uber driver app. TomTom’s advanced map-making technology, combined with its world class traffic information, will ensure Uber has a seamless navigation experience, accurate arrival times and efficient journeys in more than 300 cities around the world. “We are excited to provide Uber with our best-in-class location data.” said Charles Cautley, managing director maps and licensing at TomTom. “TomTom is a truly in
    Read More

Highlighted Content