Huawei will use TomTom maps as an alternative to Google Maps on its smartphones. The two companies have just confirmed that they have signed the agreement. The announcement should be seen in the context of the ban imposed by the United States. Huawei is facing an extremely complex and multifaceted case that has lasted since last spring. The Chinese giant can no longer do business with American companies, Google included.
TomTom closes a deal with Huawei for use of maps and services
The ban did not stop Huawei from selling an exorbitant amount of smartphones in the year just ended. It exceeded the bar of 240 million units, thanks above all to an overwhelming leadership in the Chinese market. But it is now clear that solutions are needed for the future. So, in addition to developing its own operating system to abandon Android, it also means finding replacement services for those “Made in the USA”. The Dutch TomTom is in this sense an excellent choice for satellite navigation. It was a pioneer of mapping in the pre-smartphone era.
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In more detail, the TomTom spokesman explains that the agreement has already been signed in the past, but it has been opted to keep it secret. We have no information on the terms for now.
It is worth to mention that Huawei has announced that it has sold more than 240 million smartphones in the past year. It is 34 million units more compared to 2018 (206 million smartphones sold that year). Xu Zhijun, the current president of Huawei, attributes this success to the P30 and Mate 30 range. According to him, sales of the two ranges increased by 50% compared to the previous year. According to the latest news, Huawei has sold 12 million Mate 30s worldwide despite the absence of Google’s applications and services. This success is mainly due to the Chinese market.
