Rival's report: Garmin No. 1 for car navigation - 2006-02-14

Garmin Ltd. sold more portable navigation devices for cars domestically than any competitor during the crucial holiday season, according to market share data a rival released Tuesday.




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Olathe-based Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) captured roughly a 45 percent share of the emerging market in November and December, according to data from researcher NPD Group Inc.

Dutch rival TomTom NV released the NPD data Tuesday to show off its growth in the personal navigation device category. TomTom, considered the European market leader, went from having no U.S. presence before April to a 25 percent share of unit sales in December.

That gave TomTom the No. 2 position behind Garmin, largely at the expense of the Magellan brand, which is owned by Thales Navigation Inc., a French company. Magellan ranked No. 1 in April, according to NPD Group.

"We strongly believe that we have only hit the tip of the iceberg with these performance numbers," Jocelyn Vigreux, president of TomTom USA, said in a written release Tuesday.

Magellan's market share shrank from about 45 percent in April to less than 20 percent in December, according to NPD Group information TomTom released.

The numbers released by TomTom included only market share percentages and not the actual number of units sold. The company said total sales of personal navigation devices increased 192 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 versus the prior year, according to NPD estimates.

TomTom's surge in market share makes for an interesting backdrop in light of a patent infringement lawsuit Garmin filed against the Dutch company Feb. 1.

Garmin alleges that TomTom infringed three of its patents that relate to how Garmin's navigation devices direct users and calculate routes. TomTom has said that it rejects the allegations and that it will defend the lawsuit vigorously.

TomTom released its fourth-quarter earnings early Tuesday, reporting worldwide sales of $856.8 million in 2005, up 274 percent from $229 million in 2004.

U.S. sales accounted for 6 percent of revenue in 2005 and 9 percent in the fourth quarter, the company said.

TomTom said that it had shipped 779,000 units worldwide in the fourth quarter, up 45 percent from 538,000 in the third quarter.

Garmin has never separately reported its automotive device sales by revenue or number of units sold. Spokesman Ted Gartner said the company will wait until it releases fourth-quarter results Feb. 22 to talk about sales figures or market share.

Garmin ranks No. 13 on the Kansas City Business Journal's list of area public companies.


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