SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Motorola Inc. announced the formation of a new business organization, Telematics Information Systems, that plans to leverage the company’s technologies related to the telematics market.
Fred Tucker, Motorola executive vice president and president of the Automotive, Component, Computer and Energy Sector, will chair the TIS board of directors. Robert Denaro was named TIS vice president and director.
Telematics uses wireless voice and data to provide drivers and their passengers with location-specific security, information, convenience and entertainment services from a central service center. TIS will consolidate several Motorola units and development efforts, such as those developing telematics hardware and software, wireless connections within vehicles, global positioning system products, and also information and entertainment software and servers.
Motorola said the decision to create this new group-level effort stems from the growth observed in the telematics sector. Motorola said the telematics industry is predicted to reach multi-billion-dollar sales over the next two decades.
The Strategis Group earlier this month released a study predicting rapid growth in the automatic vehicle location and telematics markets. It estimates the number of vehicles with AVL and telematics will grow from fewer than 500,000 in 1998 to about 3.4 million by 2003. While consumer devices account for only 11 percent of the market today, this share will grow to 36 percent by 2003, the analyst firm reported.
As part of its announcement, Motorola said it will provide its telematics technologies to Nissan Motor Corp. U.S.A.,for a new in-vehicle communications system called the Infiniti Communicator, expected to be available in March on the 1998.5 Infiniti Q45 and I30 luxury sedans.
