Blaupunkt, Hildesheim, a company belonging to the Bosch group, and the Japanese electronics corporation, Kenwood Corporation, Tokyo, are currently planning to form a partnership in the field of Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs). After signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two companies are now launching their cooperation for portable navigation devices.

Blaupunkt and Kenwood are leading suppliers in the field of car audio and car multimedia systems. By bundling these key competences, the two companies aim to supply navigation devices that are easy to operate and include innovative, attractive features for different regional markets.

Starting in 2008, the devices co-developed by the two companies will be offered by each of the two partners individually on the rapidly growing market segment of portable navigation. Blaupunkt and Kenwood both plan to use this cooperation to continue to expand their competence as leading providers of portable navigation systems.

Blaupunkt, a company belonging to the Bosch Group, is an internationally leading manufac-turer of driver information systems, car radios, car speakers and vehicle antennas. Blau-punkt has its main headquarters in Hildesheim, Germany, and maintains other production sites in Portugal, Hungary, Tunisia and Malaysia. The company posted sales of more than Euro 1.4 billion in fiscal year 2006 and employs more than 9,000 people worldwide.