Adding value and innovation

The local fleet management market is in a growth phase that will continue in the years to come, says ResearchAndMarkets.com, one of the world’s largest market research stores.

In its report “Fleet Management in South Africa – 4^th Edition”, ResearchAndMarkets.com notes that the number of fleet management systems in active use is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% – from 1,6 million units at the end of 2018 to 3,2 million by 2023.

“The penetration rate in the total population of non-privately owned fleet vehicles used by businesses is at the same time estimated to increase from 34,6% in 2018 to 63,1% in 2023.

“South Africa is a relatively mature telematics market and the penetration rate is comparably high from an international perspective. Far from all deployments, however, are full-scale advanced fleet management solutions. A notable share of the installed fleet telematics systems on the South African market is represented by comparably low-end tracking systems, for example, light fleet management solutions, including stolen-vehicle recovery systems extended with basic fleet management features.”

ResearchAndMarkets.com has clients across the globe (including more than 450 of the Fortune 500 Clients). Its view is that the South African fleet management market is dominated by five domestic players with broad telematics portfolios and more than 100 000 fleet management units in use in this market. “The analyst ranks Cartrack and MiX Telematics as the largest providers of fleet management solutions in South Africa, together with having more than half a million active units in the country. Tracker is the third-largest player followed by Netstar and Ctrack (Inseego).

“Other top-10 players on the South African fleet management market include local providers such as Bidtrack (Bidvest Group), Digit Vehicle Tracking (Digicell) and GPS Tracking Solutions (Eqstra Fleet Management), as well as international players such as Webfleet Solutions (Bridgestone) and Gurtam, all having estimated installed bases of at least 30 000 fleet management units in the country.”

It notes that international commercial vehicle OEMs including Scania, Daimler, MAN and Volvo Group have further introduced fleet telematics solutions in South Africa.

Hino has also announced that, from April 2021, its full fleet management system, Hino-Connect, will be installed as a standard fitment on the full range of trucks offered by Hino South Africa. This includes the Dyna, 300, 500 and 700 models and is a joint venture with Cartrack.

“This comprehensive telematics solution includes a three-year subscription from the date of fitment and will be an important tool to ensure we continue to provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction,” explains Ernie Trautmann, vice president of Hino South Africa.

“Hino’s Total Support strategy, which builds strong relationships and trust with all stakeholders, and has been the backbone of our success here in South Africa for many years, will benefit hugely from the data this system will now be able to provide to our customers, Hino South Africa and Hino Japan.”

Hino-Connect will provide three sets of data:

• Positional data for tracking and recovery as well as distances travelled.
• Vehicle performance data including fuel consumption, oil and water temperatures and speed.
• Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) fault reporting direct to Hino SA and the dealer concerned, who will know what is wrong before getting to the vehicle, thus enabling quicker reaction time to get the vehicle back on the road.

All data is stored for five years, with the last six months’ data available immediately.

“Over the years Hino has increased the number of value-added products offered to its customers, ranging from extended service intervals to competitive service and maintenance plans, warranties on replacement parts fitted by franchise dealers. And now Hino-Connect will open the way to us considering a buyback and preowned truck programme,” adds Trautmann.

“Hino-Connect means we can monitor a truck’s operating life before preparing it for resale and, in view of the high resale value of a Hino truck, we will be able to offer favourable buyback rates.

“Hino’s ultimate objective is to offer a total logistics partnership for our customers, where the truck is the tool in an integrated solution to meet an operator’s specific requirements.”

Harry Louw, Cartrack’s CEO, says that his company is the only mobility solutions provider in South Africa that has everything it offers in-house, from installation to after-sales service through over 600 mobile workshops, field training, specialist onboarding teams, its own exclusive stolen vehicle recovery infrastructure and the engineering skills to access and deliver the data required by Hino.

“Our sophisticated in-vehicle technology has proven its robustness and reliability in more than 1,3 million vehicles across 23 countries. Our Software-as-a-Service platform is developed in-house and meets the requirements of tens of thousands of commercial customers around the world. It is highly scalable and we are able to quickly respond to customer requirements for additional features,” explains Louw.

“Software development is also ongoing as part of our continuous drive to deliver cutting edge mobility solutions, which is now extending to the use of artificial intelligence to deliver richer information to our customers.”

MiX Telematics has also launched its own product that uses artificial intelligence (AI), MiX Vision AI, an extensive update to its video telematics offering.

MiX Vision AI leverages machine vision technology to detect and alert drivers and managers to unsafe or risky driving behaviour. Driver monitoring events include fatigue, phone use, distraction, smoking and seat-belt use, while passive advanced driver-assistance systems events include forward collision and lane departure warnings.

In-cab, audible alerts warn drivers in real time so that immediate corrective action can be taken, while video footage is made available to managers via MiX’s extensive online software and mobile apps for driver coaching.

The company first launched a fully integrated video telematics solution eight years ago, combining comprehensive video and vehicle telematics data to give customers via a single, integrated platform.

On-road or in-cab video footage, linked to driving or vehicle events, is automatically transmitted and available online, while users can also request time-based, continuous video extracts for detailed incident analysis on demand. The platform also caters for live streaming, giving fleet operators greater visibility into their fleet operations.

“We’re excited about the significant value this new solution will bring to our customers, as well the growth opportunity it presents for MiX,” says Catherine Lewis, executive VP of technology for MiX Telematics. “Reducing driver distraction and fatigue are key to improving driver, passenger and road safety and reducing crashes. Evidence-based footage also provides additional context to help improve driver behaviour and coaching and enables companies to exonerate claims and reduce costs.

“Although we have seen a steady increase in the uptake of our MiX Vision solution over the years, improvements in technology and the proliferation of consumer dashcam devices are driving greater awareness and adoption in fleets around the world, across all industries.

“While video telematics started as a niche application and add-on to vehicle telematics, it is fast becoming mainstream. MiX Telematics is ideally positioned to give our customers the best of both worlds by combining leading-edge AI-powered video with rich vehicle telemetry data to provide maximum fleet insights and real-time safety interventions.”

With these new developments and advancements, it’s no wonder that the local fleet management market is in a growth period that is likely to continue in the years to come.