Mobile phone giant Nokia and car maker Renault have reached an agreement for a co-branded Renault Twingo Nokia car equipped with Nokia navigation system and hands-free mobile phones.

Nokia’s spokesperson Eija-Riitta Huovinen told Reuters that the company believes the car navigation industry is booming and Nokia wants to position itself in that industry.

“Navigation is a new and fast growing industry and we are also looking for new ways to operate there. Co-operation of Nokia and the car industry is a natural step,” said Huovinen.

The Nokia-Renault agreement may very well be a good start since Renault will no doubt bolster the popularity of Nokia’s navigation phone, the 6110, which will be setup in the Twingo Nokia cars.

The car navigation device market had shown a strong growth since the second quarter of this year. With US firm Garmin and Dutch Tom Tom already capturing a big chunk of the market, Nokia does need a good strategy to catch up with the two market leaders.

Earlier this week, Nokia announced that it is planning to buy GPS map company Navteq . If this acquisition goes ahead, and with the Nokia-Renault co-branding agreement already in place, Nokia is shaping up to become a significant player in the car navigation market.

The Twingo Nokia car will go on sale in France on October 29 at around 12,150 euros.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 7:21 am under Cell phones, Navigation.

Read more entries by Arnold Zafra.
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