HERE Maps: Behind Most European Factory Sat Navs
If you have a factory navigation system in a BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, VW, Ford, Volvo or Land Rover, the map data it uses almost certainly comes from HERE Technologies. HERE is the world’s largest provider of map data to the automotive industry — understanding it helps explain what a navigation SD card actually contains and why updates matter.
A Brief History of HERE
HERE began as Navteq, founded in 1985. Nokia acquired it in 2008 and rebranded it as HERE in 2012. In 2015, HERE was acquired by a consortium of German automotive companies — BMW, Daimler (Mercedes) and Volkswagen Group — to secure long-term access to premium mapping data for their factory navigation systems. HERE is now jointly owned by this automotive group alongside Intel and other strategic investors.
How HERE Collects Map Data
- Survey vehicles — cars fitted with cameras, LIDAR and GPS that drive roads to capture lane-level detail, speed limits, signs and geometry
- Satellite and aerial imagery — used to verify and update road layouts
- Probe data — anonymised location data from connected vehicles used to verify real-world road usage
- Government sources — official road databases from Ordnance Survey, national highway authorities and local councils
How Frequently Is HERE Data Updated?
HERE publishes quarterly map releases for most regions. Automotive map SD cards are typically packaged annually — the card you purchase today contains data from HERE’s most recent quarterly release at time of production. For the UK, major road changes are reflected in the next annual map release, and speed limit changes including new 20mph zones are captured through HERE’s survey and official data feeds.
TomTom and Garmin-Based Systems
Not all factory sat navs use HERE data. Some manufacturers — including certain Ford SYNC models, Renault/Dacia MediaNav and Honda Garmin Link — use TomTom or Garmin-sourced map data. The update experience is essentially the same, but the underlying data comes from TomTom’s or Garmin’s own mapping platforms. Both are high-quality, frequently updated data sources used widely across the automotive and consumer navigation markets.
What This Means for Your Map Update
When you purchase a navigation SD card update, you’re purchasing a new licence to use the latest HERE, TomTom or Garmin map data for your specific vehicle and region. The card isn’t just a storage medium — it contains a licensed, formatted copy of the map dataset that your navigation system is authorised to read. This is why generic blank SD cards can’t be substituted, and why unofficial downloads of navigation data are both legally and practically problematic.