BMW joins other foreign brands’ moves to use domestic car GPS in Korea

German luxury carmaker BMW Group is installing domestic GPS navigation systems in models sold in South Korea, joining other imported car brands’ moves to attract local drivers with greater convenience.

BMW, the No. 1 foreign automaker in Korea, said on Wednesday it has begun to equip a customized navigation system optimized for the country, which it developed with the country's leading navigation app operator Tmap Mobility Co., in vehicles sold there.

The German carmaker is installing the GPS system starting with its BMW X1 compact sport utility vehicle and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 5-seat family multi-purpose vehicle. It plans to roll it out in stages to other new models such as the redesigned BMW X2.

Drivers do not need to update their maps since road information for the navigation system is automatically updated and delivered through online streaming.

In electric vehicles, the navigation system provides optimal routes by factoring in the destination, remaining battery capacity, available charging stations and traffic conditions. If a driver sets a charging station as the destination, the system will automatically pre-heat batteries for improved charging.

ALREADY IN VOLVO, LAND ROVER, JEEP

The move comes as other foreign carmakers such as Volvo, Land Rover and Jeep already provide Korean-made auto GPS navigation systems on their cars sold in Korea to ease drivers’ discomfort when using foreign devices.

Volvo’s Korea unit has been offering an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system, which includes Tmap navigation functions, since 2021. Land Rover and Jeep also sell their vehicles in Korea with Tmap-powered navigation systems.

Toyota Motor Corp. is installing an IVI platform of Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus Corp., which delivers real-time navigation, entertainment, vehicle management and other information in some of its eco-friendly vehicles such as the Prius and the RAV 4 Hybrid models sold in the country.

BMW’s archrival Mercedes-Benz decided to reflect Tmap’s real-time traffic information into the navigation system of its new 2024 E-Class sedan introduced in Korea last month. The country is one of the Germany luxury carmaker's four major markets and the company sells the most E-Class models globally in Korea.

Mercedes-Benz is slated to install a Tmap version optimized for its vehicles in the second half of this year.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.