TomTom predicts the UK market for telematics-based solutions will grow by 15-20% over the next 12 months – and it wants to be at the forefront of that expansion.

The company has sold around 60 million satellite navigation devices since its formation in 1991 and supplies more than 17,000 businesses globally with its Worksmart fleet management system, which specialises in vehicle tracking, navigation, licence checking, accident management and reporting.

Its TomTom Business Solutions subsidiary is an important area of growth for the Dutch company and Giles Margerison, sales director at the UK division, has ambitious plans to build on recent success.

“The UK is the most competitive market, but we are still growing very quickly,” he says.

“We’ve done really well at staying ahead of the competition, but it is clear that there is still a lot that we need to do.

“I want to be the biggest player in the UK market and the best.”

Cutting congestion key to saving fuel

One of the key challenges facing TomTom been allaying fleet managers’ anxiety over cost and changing drivers’ perceptions of telematics.

The company says 80% of businesses have not adopted telematics and believes this is down to a lack of knowledge about the benefits and a reluctance to invest.

“We are working really hard to get the right messages out to the market,” says Margerison.

“It’s not about big brother which seems to be what people previously thought.”

TomTom claims that business customers get a return on investment within nine months of implementing the Worksmart solution with savings made in lower accident costs, fuel and insurance.

“We sell profit to fleet customers which helps them to become more efficient, customer friendly, safer and sustainable,” says Margerison.

Thomas Schmidt, TomTom Business Solutions managing director adds: “In the business world, the car owner and the driver are two different people with two different objectives.Fleet management helps to bridge that gap.”

One of TomTom’s key products, HD Traffic, was launched in 2010 and now has more than 2.5m customers worldwide. It uses historic, real-time and predictive traffic data to deliver traffic navigation that can bring 15-20% savings in fuel.

Navigation is no longer just about getting drivers from A to B. It is also about saving fuel, cutting journey time and reducing vehicle CO2 emissions.

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