The deployment of the new units in the U.S. and Canada will be completed by year end. The deployment in Europe, covering major cities in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, will be completed in early 2000. Upon completion of the European rollout, deployment will begin in Australia.

In total, Navigation Solutions will install and maintain 50,000 in-car systems in Hertz rental cars located in over 50 cities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. Navigation Solutions is purchasing these 50,000 navigation systems from Orbital's Magellan Corporation subsidiary, the world's leading satellite access technology company.

The debut of Orbital's newest-generation car navigation system in the Hertz fleet is the largest fleet deployment of satellite-based car navigation systems in automotive history.

To introduce its expanded NeverLost service, Hertz has begun a major advertising campaign in both print and broadcast media, prominently featuring Orbital's navigation system. The world's largest rental car company, Hertz operates a fleet of 550,000 vehicles at 6,100 locations in more than 140 countries around the world.

The satellite-based navigation system, which is built by Magellan under the product name 750NAV, allows Hertz to offer advanced travel information services to its rental car customers through the Hertz NeverLost service.

Customers who rent a Hertz car equipped with Orbital's 750NAV navigation system are able to easily find their way around unfamiliar cities, saving time and increasing productivity for the busy business traveler, as well as providing a points-of-interest database for all users of the NeverLost service.

To use the NeverLost system, Hertz customers simply input a local street address or choose from a range of destinations including hotels, airports, restaurants and other destinations contained in the system's database.

The in-car navigation system then provides detailed, easy-to-follow, turn-by-turn driving directions and voice prompts in seven languages (English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish).

Each 750NAV unit is also equipped with an "Instant Locate Button," which immediately displays the vehicle's exact location on the screen. So, if a customer requires assistance from Hertz' Emergency Roadside Assistance service, they can easily let Hertz know exactly where they are.

In addition to supplying the in-car units for the Orbital/Hertz joint venture, Magellan is also pursuing other market segments and distribution channels for the 750NAV system. In the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automobile market, Magellan announced earlier this year that it formed a joint venture with Magna International Inc., a first-tier supplier of integrated electronic systems to the global automotive industry.

This new venture, called MagnaWorks, will design and integrate custom, state-of-the-art vehicle navigation and information systems for OEMs of passenger and commercial vehicles in North America and Europe.

Orbital and Hertz formed the $50 million Navigation Solutions joint venture specifically to provide turn-key installation, operations and maintenance services for Hertz' expansion of its popular NeverLost service throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. Formed in early 1999, Navigation Solutions is based in Plano, TX and employs approximately 100 people.

GPS Update - SpaceDaily Special Report

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Space

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SPACEDAILY

Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.