After "refrigerators, televisions, and sofas", the new in car navigation will be the main interface and sales driving force for Chinese cars going global.
This judgment comes from the global car navigation pioneer Telenav. At the Beijing Auto Show recently, its Chief Customer Officer Hassan Wahla made five key judgments about AI, automotive companies' self-developed and going global.
In an exclusive interview with Auto China 2026 (Beijing Auto Show), Hassan Wahla, the chief customer officer of Telenav, mentioned a past story to Taber: during the Internet foam, a company called AccuWeather just added ". com" to its name, and its market value rose - even though its business did not change at all.
Similar things are happening in the AI field now, "Hassan said." Many people just want to catch up with this wave, but they may not truly understand how to use AI to enhance customer experience. ”
This statement comes from a veteran who has been working in the location services and automotive industries for over 30 years, and carries particularly weight. Telenav is the world's first mobile navigation company, with over 120 million mobile navigation users and over 50 million car navigation users. It is deeply involved in the in car navigation business of car companies such as BYD, SAIC, Chery, Changan, Mazda, Ford, and General Motors. Hassan made several seemingly counterintuitive judgments in the industry transformation of AI models getting on the car and car companies accelerating software development.
Firstly, following "refrigerators, televisions, and sofas", the all-new in car navigation will be the main interface and sales driver for Chinese cars going global.
Over the past decade, people have been saying that car navigation is dead - first on mobile phones, then on CarPlay and Android Auto. But the reality is that the number of cars with pre installed navigation systems from manufacturers worldwide continues to rise. ”
Car infotainment systems are more efficient, secure, and have real-time data updates than mobile phones. The core interaction of every user's trip is' where to go '- navigation carries the complete decision chain from destination setting to charging planning. A set of excellent in car navigation is becoming the most intuitive criterion for overseas users to evaluate a car's "usability", directly affecting reputation and purchasing decisions. That's also why Telenav believes that in car navigation will become the "main interface" for going global.
On a deeper level, Hassan believes that the role of navigation is expanding from serving users to serving cars themselves - advanced assisted driving and autonomous driving also rely on the infrastructure information it provides, such as road curvature and slope.
If a car doesn't even know where it's going, how can it drive itself? ”
Secondly, AI is not a label, but a toolbox for solving real problems.
Telenav started using machine learning for "single box search" and destination prediction more than a decade ago. Nowadays, they classify AI capabilities into three directions: prediction (knowing where you are going before getting on the car), voice intention understanding ("finding a Starbucks that is open for charging next to you"), and computer vision (using in car cameras to determine lane and turning timing).
We won't use AI for the sake of AI, "Hassan said." We'll use it to solve real problems
Thirdly, self research by car companies is not a replacement, but a restructuring of cooperation methods.
Actually, it's the opposite for us. ”Hassan explained that OEMs hope to gain more control, but at the same time require scale and efficiency. Telenav does not compete with car companies for brand exposure, but instead offers flexible support in a "white box" manner - for example, providing only ADAS for an OEM that uses Google Navigation.
We are not giving a black box, but providing white box, modular capabilities that can be integrated. ”At present, Telenav only serves over 15 OEMs in China, with an average annual growth rate of over 50% in recent years.
Fourthly, the business model has shifted from selling software to continuous service and subscription.
15 years ago, 100% of Telenav's revenue came from one-time software sales. Nowadays, over 90% of customer contracts include service components with an average duration of three years, which can be renewed annually thereafter. We have seen a dual growth in usage and renewal rates. In addition, usage based insurance (UBI) has entered mass production in the United States, and Telenav is shifting from a cost center to a profit creator.
Fifth, the key for Chinese car companies to go global is localization, compliance, and global experience.
In Saudi Arabia, Arabic writing is from right to left, and the entire human-machine interface needs to be modified; In Germany, the address is entered first as the street and then as the house number; In Europe, you cannot collect driver data casually - GDPR is a red line. ”Hassan emphasized that Telenav's globalization experience is not just about translating interfaces, but also helping car companies understand local regulations and user habits, and reconstruct market competitiveness.
Looking ahead to the next five years, Hassan's conclusion is clear and firm: "Navigation is evolving from serving users to serving cars
As cars gradually become intelligent agents, navigation is their 'intrinsic ability' to perceive the world, understand paths, and make decisions.
The picture shows Hassan Wahla (right) giving an interview to Tiber at the Beijing Auto Show
Q: You have over 30 years of experience in the automotive and location services industry. How has your understanding of "navigation" changed from early GPS and LBS to today's AI era?
Hassan Wahla: The biggest change is that navigation is no longer a 'product', but a 'capability'. In the early days, navigation was a tool that users actively opened and used, whether it was a GPS device or LBS in the mobile Internet stage. But today, user behavior has changed - they no longer care about "whether or not I use navigation", but directly express their intentions, such as "take me to the company". In this interaction mode, navigation is no longer an entrance, but an embedded part of the system. It has become a key capability in the chain of "understanding intent, generating decisions, and executing paths". This is the most fundamental change in navigation.
Q: If we define today's Telenav in one sentence, is it closer to a navigation company, an intelligent car supplier, or an AI driven in car experience platform?
Hassan Wahla: We will no longer simply define ourselves as a 'navigation company'. More precisely, we are transforming into a provider of in car services and decision-making capabilities. Navigation is still one of the core capabilities, but it is only a part of the overall capability system. Today, our focus is more on how to integrate data, services, and AI capabilities to help car companies build a complete user experience. This means that our role is shifting from 'providing functionality' to 'supporting system capabilities'.
Q: Will navigation products disappear when AI becomes the unified entry point for interaction? Will users still be aware of its existence?
Hassan Wahla: Navigation will not disappear, but it will become more integrated into various ecosystems. The core capability of navigation has not decreased, but has become more important. The new in car navigation will be the main interface and sales driving force for Chinese cars going global. The difference is that navigation is integrated into AI systems and becomes a part of the decision-making process. What users may see is a dialogue interface, but behind it is still navigation completing path planning, traffic judgment, and dynamic adjustment. So, instead of saying that navigation is disappearing, it is more accurate to say that it is being systematized and infrastructurized.
Q: Car companies are accelerating the development of their own navigation, mapping, and even cockpit capabilities. Has Telenav experienced a situation where the scope of cooperation has been compressed?
Hassan Wahla: Car companies hope to control more software capabilities, which is an inevitable direction for industry development. From our actual cooperation, there may indeed be situations where certain abilities are internalized. But this does not mean that suppliers are simply replaced, but rather that the mode of cooperation has changed. In the past, we provided complete solutions, but now we focus more on modular capabilities such as data, services, or specific functions, such as only providing ADAS parts to customers using Google Navigation. This change has accelerated significantly in the past year. But what it brings is not the disappearance of the market, but the restructuring of roles.
Q: Under these changes, what are the most fundamental changes in the requirements of car companies for suppliers? Where are the core barriers of Telenav?
Hassan Wahla: Car companies are now focusing more on three points: flexibility, integrability, and global adaptability. They no longer want to be bound by a closed system, but rather hope that different abilities can be flexibly combined. This puts higher demands on suppliers. Our core advantages are mainly reflected in two aspects: first, global data capabilities, including multi regional coverage and real-time update capabilities; The second is the ecological connectivity capability, such as integration with maps, content, and various services. Today's competition is not just about technological capabilities themselves, but whether they can sustainably provide stable and integrated capabilities in complex ecosystems.
Q: What is the proportion of revenue from software, services, and subscriptions in Telenav's business model? What changes have occurred in the past three years?
Hassan Wahla: This is a very clear trend. In the past, our revenue structure was mainly based on licenses, but now the proportion of software, services, and subscriptions is continuously increasing, and this trend is accelerating. Car companies are also increasingly accepting the continuous service model, as user experience itself is dynamically changing. This means that navigation and related services are no longer a one-time delivery, but a continuous operational process.
Q: Does the new model, including UBI car insurance, mean that you are shifting from a "cost based supplier" to a "revenue generating creative partner"? What stage is it currently in?
Hassan Wahla: You can understand it this way. We are exploring ways to help car companies create new sources of revenue through data and services, such as supporting UBI insurance based on driving behavior data or sharing through service ecosystems. This type of model is still in its early stages overall, but it has already begun to demonstrate its value in some projects. The direction is very clear: from providing functionality to participating in value creation. In the future, whoever can help car companies increase their revenue is more likely to become a long-term core partner.
Q: Chinese car companies are accelerating their overseas expansion. What role does Telenav play in this process?
Hassan Wahla: We are more of a 'bridge of localization capabilities'. There are significant differences in data compliance, user habits, and service ecosystems among different markets. For example, Europe has strict requirements for data privacy, and there are also significant differences in content and services between the Middle East and Southeast Asia. These issues cannot be solved through simple replication, but need to be re adapted locally. Our advantage lies in our long-term global operational experience, which can help car companies enter different markets faster. Essentially, going global is not about bringing products out, but about rebuilding capabilities in different markets. In one sentence: In China, seek the world.
Q: If we have to make a judgment: will navigation be a weakened functional module or a more core system capability in the next five years?
Hassan Wahla: I think it will become more central, but its way of existence will change. Navigation will no longer exist as a standalone product, but will become a fundamental capability in the entire intelligent system. It not only supports path planning, but also participates in broader decision-making processes. Users may no longer see it, but it always plays a crucial role.
▍About the interviewee
Hassan Wahla, Chief Customer Officer of Telenav, has over 30 years of experience in the automotive and location services (LBS) industry. He joined Telenav in 2005 and leads the company's automotive business comprehensively.
