NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber has submitted a bid for Nokia's map business, HERE, for as much as US$3 billion, the New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the offer.

Finland's Nokia said last month it had started a strategic review for HERE, a competitor to Google Maps, after announcing a takeover of network equipment rival Alcatel-Lucent .

Uber is competing against a consortium of automakers, including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the offer.

The German automakers are teaming up with the Chinese search engine Baidu on the offer, the report said. Uber declined to comment on the matter.

The newspaper said a private equity firm has also bid and that Nokia is expected to announce the sale of HERE by the end of May.