4/28/2006 Houston -- More and more vendors of portable GPS (global positioning system) devices are teaming with car dealers or carmakers to promote their products in the Taiwan market following the successful cooperation between Nasdaq-listed Garmin International and carmaker Ford Lio Ho in Taiwan, according to market sources.
Garmin sold more than 9,000 units of its StreetPilot c320 GPS devices in a five-month period ended March 2006, in bundled sales with Ford’s vehicles sold in Taiwan, according to estimates by Taiwan car dealers.
Taiwan-based Supa Technology is currently promoting its own Gonav-branded portable GPS devices in cooperation with Buick’s sales agent in Taiwan, according to market sources. In addition, GPS devices from Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) will be a built-in accessory of Mitsubishi cars sold in Taiwan, staring in May, according to market sources.
Most GPS-device makers are now trying to team up with Toyota, the largest brand in the local car market, the sources noted.
Volume sales of portable GPS devices in the Taiwan channel are expected to reach 120,000 units in 2006, whereas about 400,000-500,000 cars a year are sold in the local market, according to channel sources.