FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Auto supplier Robert Bosch said it was in talks with high-definition digital maps company Here and is exploring whether to take a stake.
"It is conceivable," a spokesman told Reuters on Friday, adding that taking a financial stake in Here, a company controlled by a consortium of BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz and Audi may not be the outcome of the talks.
The aim of the talks was to ensure that Bosch can continue to offer services to customers of Here.
In July, Dutch mapmaker TomTom and Bosch deepened a partnership on high-definition maps to refine the technology crucial for autonomous driving.
Earlier this week Mercedes' parent Daimler confirmed it was in talks with Amazon and Microsoft about taking a minority stake in Here.
Mercedes, BMW and Audi bought Here for $2.8 billion (2.5 billion euros) from Nokia last year to create an alternative digital mapping business to Google.
Intelligent mapping systems supply information to control self-driving cars, which are equipped with street-scanning sensors to measure traffic and road conditions. This location data can in turn be shared with other map users.
