German Handelsblatt: Digital road maps: “One throws more money after lost money”: Audi, BMW and Mercedes give Here another million007424

Maps for autonomous driving

Measuring the world with millimeter precision is an expensive undertaking.

(Photo: Corbis/Getty Images)

High-resolution road maps are regarded as a key component so that one day cars will be able to handle city traffic completely autonomously. The German premium car manufacturers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz therefore bought a majority stake in the Here Technologies map service a few years ago. The suppliers Continental and Bosch are now also involved.
But measuring the world with millimeter precision is an expensive undertaking – and in view of the ongoing losses, the German car manufacturers have to step in to provide Here with sufficient liquidity. In the first half of the year alone, Audi, BMW and Mercedes transferred a total of 354 million euros to the ailing card subsidiary via their holding company There Holding, according to Handelsblatt information.
Of this, 91 million euros will be used to strengthen equity and the rest to repay a loan that Here was unable to repay on its own.

Read on now

Get access to this and every other article in the
Web and in our app free of charge for 4 weeks.

Further

Read on now

Get access to this and every other article in the
web and in our app.

Further

Go to Source