"I'm not sure why car companies invested at all in attempting to build their own mapping software." Given how much the OEMs charge for the systems (often it's

"I'm not sure why car companies invested at all in attempting to build their own mapping software." Given how much the OEMs charge for the systems (often it's a $2K upcharge), plus how much they charge for updates (typically $150 - $200), the manufacturers undoubtedly saw it as a potentially profitable product development effort.