Apple claimed Apple Maps was created because Apple wanted to protect its users from Google Maps' data hoarding. We assume Apple is already hoarding data but now to be able to compete with other advertisement platforms Apple, would have to share that data with advertisers.
I'm not happy about ads, but ads aren't inherently anti-privacy. If they are not targeted at you based on tracking data then I don't see any conflict with privacy. for example, mentioned in the article:
For example, it reportedly considered charging for prioritization of search results in the app. It's also plausible that it could sell the ability to make specific locations on the map more prominent to viewers.