Santa Clara, California, October 12th, 2021 — Telenav, a leading provider of navigation and intelligent connected vehicle software, today announced a collaboration with SAIC Motor to deliver inertial navigation and in-vehicle navigation capabilities for overseas programs under the SAIC MG, IM Motors, and SAIC Maxus brands — covering multiple export markets and giving SAIC a more stable, reliable navigation foundation across regions.
At its core, Telenav's solution pairs inertial navigation with an embedded navigation engine. In complex environments or areas with weak satellite signals, inertial navigation uses vehicle attitude and motion data to keep estimating position and maintain route continuity — dramatically improving robustness on the most challenging overseas roads.
"Three brands, multiple export markets, one navigation partner — SAIC's decision reflects the reliability our technology delivers where it matters most: tunnels, urban canyons, and roads where satellite signals simply give out. And the group trip feature we co-created for Thailand shows what happens when you build for how people actually drive," said Hassan Wahla, President & Chief Customer Officer, Automotive, at Telenav.
"The Thailand co-creation is a highlight of this partnership. Thai drivers love traveling in pairs and convoys, so we designed a group trip feature that lets owners plan shared routes and meeting points right in the head unit and see each other's location throughout the journey. It is localization at its most genuine," said Manfred Fu, General Manager, Automotive, at Telenav.
Within the Thailand navigation project, the partners went deep on local driving culture. Recognizing that many Thai drivers prefer paired or convoy-style journeys, Telenav and SAIC jointly designed and developed a "group trip" feature: owners can plan shared routes and meeting points in the head unit for multiple vehicles, then share and view group members' locations and statuses throughout the drive — making multi-vehicle travel through unfamiliar areas or on long journeys simpler, clearer, and easier to manage.
As the collaboration advances, SAIC will tailor inertial navigation and the wider navigation experience to each brand's positioning and target users, while Telenav continuously optimizes navigation performance, inertial behavior, and signature features like group trip using real-world data from each export market — steadily refining the smart cockpit and mobility capabilities of MG, IM Motors, and Maxus vehicles worldwide.
