Leading brand TomTom report shrinking sales for half a decade and John Lewis have started to remove stock of traditional sat nav from their shelves. Sat Navs used to be the leading and most advanced technology for drivers, however as alternatives are more cost effective and convinent they have become more redudant as a separte accessory. The question becomes what has caused the decline in sales that both retailers and manufacturers have seen?

More and more, manufacturers are starting to include Sat Navs as standard in lower trim levels. Some models and manufacturers will even offer Sat Nav as standard across all levels of specification. This is great for those leasing a car, as driving a new car regularly allows you to benefit from the ever improving standard specification of vehicles.

However as recent research shows that over a third of drivers have Sat Nav already built in, there is less demmand to purchase a seperate device from a high street retailer. This is a big part of why John Lewis have removed stock from their shelves, resorting to only selling the products from their online store. It also explains a decline that TomTom have seen over the last several years.

John Lewis also said that there is an increase in drivers using mobile phone navigation apps in place of a stand alone device. Often these applications are free - such as Google Maps - while others offer unique functionality. For example, apps such as Waze can provide drivers with real-time traffic information. This includes up to date notifications for road works, road diversions, police traps and even prices of fuel.

With the latest cars now offering systems that link to your mobile phone for Sat Nav, through offerings like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, there is even more cost effective and user friendly solutions to navigate the roads.