For the first time, Garmin has overtaken TomTom as the best-selling company in the satnav market.
Garmin grabbed the top slot of the mobile navigation market for the second quarter of the year, after two years' domination for rival TomTom.
Research from analyst firm Canalys showed that a total of 7.4 million satnav devices were sold worldwide during the quarter until the end of June, up 11.6 per cent compared to 2006.
Garmin sold 1.85 million units, compared to the 1.81 million that TomTom managed. Mio Technology (683,500 units), Magellan (421,080 units), and Navman (232,780 units) trailed behind in the top five.
EMEA leading the way
Europe, the Middle East and Africa racked up 60 per cent of sales, while sales in the US accounted for 26 per cent of the total sales.
Canalys believes the massive growth in the satnav market is set to continue for some time. "It is difficult to point to another part of the high-tech industry that is so dynamic and growing as fast as the navigation sector," said Chris Jones, principal analyst at Canalys.
"With the current market growth, the still huge untapped potential, rapid hardware and software development, and the number of players vying for a share, you can understand why there has been so much merger and acquisition activity and interest in this business recently," Jones said.
