ALD Automotive has experienced a 300% increase in fleets opting for its paid for telematics service over the past three years as companies seek ways to better manage their vehicles.

The growth is due to fleet managers having a greater need to manage costs, reduce risk and maintain compliance, particularly regarding mileage capture for HM Revenue and Customs requirements, according to Rhys Harrhy, telematics product manager at ALD Automotive.

Harrhy said: “Telematics is now on the agenda for the majority of fleet managers, especially on car fleets. If they have not implemented it they have certainly talked about it.”

The majority of the four-fold increase that ALD has experienced has been from van fleets but there has been a rise in the number of car fleets implementing telematics, particularly job-need cars used by service engineers. 

A shift in the attitude of drivers towards telematics has also contributed to the uptake, according to Harrhy.

“Drivers are far more accepting of telematics as a technology,” he said. “When we launched our telematics product 10 or 11 years ago, the concept of connecting the vehicle to the cloud was resisted.

“Now drivers rarely leave home without a smartphone and they are used to companies like Google and Apple knowing their whereabouts through GPS technology in their phone.

“Drivers also want an easier life. They want to reduce the admin burden of recording journeys and it means that fleet managers get accurate mileage data.”

Companies typically save 10% on business fuel costs, according to Harrhy, with some customers achieving more than 30%. In addition, ALD’s ProFleet2 telematics has helped customers recover more than £3-million worth of stolen vehicles. 

Harrhy will be presenting a free-to-attend best practice workshop on telematics at Fleet News’s major new event Fleet Management Live, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham on October 6 and 7.

The workshop will cover the implementation of telematics, including consultation with drivers, and how companies can use telematics data to make smarter decisions about their fleet.

Harrhy said: “Fleet managers are not introducing telematics to monitor drivers, it’s about understanding how their vehicles are being used and using the data to choose the right vehicles.

“You might have a driver that believes a 2.0-litre diesel is appropriate for them but telematics allows you to assess their suitability for lower CO2 vehicles.

“It can generate reports on journey duration, distance, when the vehicle was driven and the maximum duration. That allows the fleet manager and the driver to get a better understanding whether a hybrid or electric vehicle is suitable for them. But without the data you won’t know.”

To find out more about Fleet Management Live or to register for your free ticket, visit www.fleetmanagementlive.co.uk

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