Quartix targets leasing sector with telematics product

Quartix is targeting the leasing industry with a new telematics device.

The company has already enjoyed success in the fleet sector, having fitted more than 80,000 units for 5,000 customers, but it now believes the time is right to tap into a market with plenty of potential for growth.

Quartix sales and marketing director Andy Kirk told Fleet News that it was seeing an increasing number of enquiries from leasing and rental companies keen to offer telematics products as part of a bundled service.

“As telematics is becoming more and more recognised and accepted in fleets, leasing companies often get asked for their recommended product,” he said.

“The Quartix product gives leasing companies a quality, reliable service with the opportunity to add value to their offering to customers.”

ALD Automotive has fitted telematics as standard in its vehicles for 10 years in order to record mileage and ensure they are serviced on time, while customers can upgrade to a full telematics solution for a fee.

But, while other leasing companies, such as Motiva and Fraikin, offer a telematics product, no other provider had followed ALD’s lead by fitting telematics as standard.

That was until Zenith started to trial a telemetry device in 30 of its own company cars, with a view to installing it on its risk fleet.

Its focus is on service, maintenance and repair costs rather than simplytracking or driver behaviour, and it wants to establish whether intelligent pricing could change the way its monthly contract hire rates are structured.

In the past few weeks, LeasPlan has also launched a new telematics product, powered by RAC technology, which provides driver data that can be used to improve fleet safety, reduce fuel spend and help companies fulfil duty of care obligations.

Innovation has helped the telematics sector enjoy record growth in the past few years, with companies such as Quartix, Tracker, Trimble and Trak Global recognising potential in the insurance market.

The sector has also been encouraged by a desire to drive down fleet costs and a growing faith in telematics to deliver those savings.

Quartix alone is fitting 4,000 new units each month and hopes to build on those sales with a device which will allow vehicle leasing and rental companies to obtain detailed mileage data and use live tracking, crash detection and geofencing. Importantly, it will also give them the opportunity to offer fleets access at a preferential rate.

Quartix says rental and contract hire companies can be proactive with vehicle maintenance if they have access to accurate mileage from the vehicles.

“While telematics has always been able to record this, the cost up until now for leasing and rental companies outweighed the benefits,” said Kirk.

Quartix is selling the new device to the leasing and rental sector at £68 per unit on a self-install basis. In the first 12 months it’s aiming to increase annual sales by 3,000 units. The company also offers an installation service.

“Linked directly to their back office, the system gives the leasing or rental company access to a live mileage feed and tracking, an easy-to-use reporting suite to manage vehicle service schedules and automated incident alerts if the vehicle is involved in a collision,” said Kirk.

“Any customers with a lease vehicle fitted with this technology can opt to remotely upgrade the full tracking features, which include driving-style monitoring, live tracking and route maps, speed charts and utilisation data.”