The vehicle navigation share of the total market should grow from 67.9% in 2006 to 78.2% in 2012, mainly due to greatly expanded use of portable car navigation devices. Most other segments, with the exception of recreation and fitness, are expected to lose market share from 2006 to 2012, while continuing to grow in absolute terms.
The second largest segment, surveying and mapping, was worth an estimated $2 billion in 2007 and will reach $3.2 billion by 2012. Machine control is currently a $1.1 billion segment that will be worth $2.1 billion in 2012, a CAGR of 13.4%.
While it was the Global Positioning Systems satellite system that launched the mobile location market, today nearly 75% of all applications use either augmented GPS technologies such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) or hybrid systems like wireless assisted-GPS (WA-GPS). By 2012, augmented and hybrid satellite location technologies’ share is projected to reach 84.1%.
The U.S. is expected to retain its position as the world’s largest market for mobile location technologies through 2012. Otherwise, Western Europe (i.e., the EU plus EFTA nations) should replace Japan as the second-largest geographical market. As a group, markets outside the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan are projected to increase their global market shares to 20% by 2012.
