CHICAGO --- NAVTEQ, a leading provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation, announced that with the new model year introductions, nearly 70 North American vehicle models now offer NAVTEQ Traffic systems, almost doubling the number available just a year ago.

Today, 20 percent of all North American car models offer NAVTEQ Traffic, up from 10 percent last year.

When real-time traffic began to emerge in 2005, only two vehicle models offered NAVTEQ Traffic. Since then, the demand for such systems has skyrocketed, and is reflective of an industry-wide adoption of in-vehicle, real-time traffic information.

Today, 24 percent of all vehicle models in North America offer real-time traffic systems. NAVTEQ Traffic links up-to-the minute traffic information to map data and enables wireless transmission directly to a vehicle's on-board navigation system.

NAVTEQ Traffic delivers detailed information about road construction, the speed that traffic is moving and incidents such as accidents, allowing navigation devices and drivers to make smart routing and re-routing decisions. What began as a luxury feature for only the most expensive cars is now available in a wider range of autos -- from more expensive models to mini-vans, trucks and more moderately-priced vehicles.

As automobile navigation systems have become more popular, consumers have been asking for systems to include real-time traffic information. According to a NAVTEQ study conducted in November 2007, 92 percent of in-vehicle navigation system users say they are very interested in real-time traffic for their navigation device. 

The introduction of personalized, real-time traffic was a breakthrough for the North American vehicle industry in 2004, which until then had relied on broadcast traffic services, such as radio, that provided regular but not personal updates. NAVTEQ Traffic was the first to deliver real-time personalized traffic linked to the map in a navigation system.