Optimizing and greening fleets: telematics at the heart of transformation

Car Fleets — March 2023, p.68

Telematics, a lever for optimization and ecological transition

Faced with inflation and soaring fuel prices, telematics providers are stepping up their efforts to help fleet managers reduce costs while accelerating the transition to electric vehicles.

Strategic partnerships for electrification

Webfleet, a subsidiary of Bridgestone, collaborates with several players to optimize the management of electric fleets. For example:
- Chargylize uses telematics data to simulate the transition to electricity taking into account the real use of vehicles and existing charging infrastructures.
- In June 2022, Webfleet signed a partnership with Muses, manufacturer of electric light commercial vehicles, allowing customers real-time access to key data (charge level, consumption, autonomy, etc.).
- With Scoobic Urban Mobility, manufacturer of 100% electric vehicles for urban delivery, Webfleet helps optimize routes based on residual autonomy.

Cost reduction and environmental impact

According to Webfleet data, electric fleets in Europe save an average of €3,599 per vehicle per year, reducing fuel consumption by 5,665 liters and avoiding the emission of 151 tons of CO₂ per year.

Savings vary by country:

United Kingdom: €3,800 per year
Netherlands: €3,500
France: €2,215
Germany, Italy, Poland: around €2,000

This difference suggests that there is still significant potential for optimization in France.

Innovations and integrated offers

Fleetcar Go Plan : a new offer from Bridgestone, combining premium tires, maintenance and telematics, aimed at small and medium-sized fleets, with a monthly subscription model at a predictable cost.
Collaboration with Project44 for the real-time monitoring of goods, and with Bia to optimize the charging of electric vehicles, by making charging more ecological and economical while preserving the batteries.
Use of video and artificial intelligence via Webfleet Video to improve road safety.

The telematics market is consolidating

Coyote, a specialist in connected services, has taken majority control ofUbiwan, a start-up offering a global fleet management solution and the recovery of stolen vehicles.
Together, Coyote and Ubiwan aim at a European market of more than 130 million professional vehicles, strengthening their presence in the construction, agriculture and logistics sectors.

Optimum Automotive: alliances and expansion

Partnership with R Solutions Expertises to optimize fleet management through telematics, in particular road risk prevention and turnkey car sharing.
Acquiring technology, such as G-Keep in August 2021, and development of the offer Securifuel to combat fuel theft.
International expansion:
- Presence in Africa (Abidjan, Casablanca), in Europe (Barcelona).
- Recent establishment in Bogotá (Colombia) with ambitions to extend the business to Mexico, Chile and Peru, through local acquisitions and partnerships with rental companies, insurers, importers.

This dynamic clearly illustrates the growing importance of telematics data in the sustainable and optimized management of car fleets.

A platform for managing and optimizing consumption

Today, in partnership with the insurance company WTW France and thanks to the Securifuel subscription, Optimum Automotive reimburses stolen fuel up to 400 euros (after deduction of a franchise of 501 euros) for vehicles over 3.5 tons.

Collaboration with Renault

The telematics company is strengthening its presence with car manufacturers by integrating their boxes into its platform. In July 2022, Optimum Automotive announced that it had finalized the integration of the module IVC by Renault, chosen to equip the majority of the manufacturer's range of passenger vehicles (VP) and light commercial vehicles (LCV).

The IVC box not only collects mileage and energy consumption, but also information on upcoming maintenance deadlines and alerts of the dashboard. All types of engines are taken into account, including plug-in hybrids and electric hybrids, with specific data such as the state of charge of the battery and the history of consumption and recharging.

Renault and Optimum Automotive offer two levels of services:

Connected Maintenance : includes maintenance and a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) dashboard, with optional tax optimization and connection to theANTAI.
Full Fleet : allows the retrieval of data in real time, including geolocation and driving behavior analysis.

With this integration, Optimum Automotive is joining the ecosystem Mobilize Fleet Data of the Renault group.

Kuantic integrates the Renault box

Kuantic offers its customers the possibility of activating vehicles compatible with the IVC box, offering the management of alerts maintenance, eco-driving data and the geolocation via its platform.

In addition to Renault data, Kuantic customers will continue to benefit from information from other telematics devices (Kuantic GP8500 boxes installed as an aftermarket), including features such as driver identification and the RFID application.

Kuantic also markets an innovative module for the automatic payment of parking fees, optimizing the duration and the real cost of on-street parking.

Testimonial: Crédit Agricole Atlantique Vendée

Maxime Sabatier Beauchesne, logistics manager, explains how telematics has improved the management of their fleet of 60 light vehicles (including 3 electric and 4 hybrid) and has brought gains in safety and costs.

Car sharing : the Kuantic solution makes it possible to supervise the use of vehicles, with alerts in case of use outside the rules (ex: personal use prohibited outside of hours).
Mileage control : the accuracy of mileage records has greatly improved management, avoiding discrepancies of up to 10%.
Predictive maintenance : anticipating maintenance, reducing costs and improving safety.

Geotab and Viasat: partnerships and innovations

Geotab has established a partnership with Renault, offering a solution covering vehicles built after 2010 in 21 European countries. It offers management of mixed fleets (thermal and electrical) and integrates sensors and beacons from Ela Innovation for monitoring the cold chain, monitoring doors, etc.
Viasat Connect France has signed an agreement with SoFleet to integrate the original data of manufacturers into its solutions, enriching its platform of geolocation And of fleet management with accurate technical data. The platform also offers options for managing field interventions and the protection of lone workers.

Kuantic controls parking fees

The automatic parking payment module developed by Kuantic optimizes costs and simplifies the process for drivers:

The box geolocates the vehicle to check the parking zone.
The driver receives a text message to confirm the payment.
Payment is calculated for the actual duration of the parking, avoiding additional costs and fines.

This system is already deployed in more than 400 French cities.

Testimonial: Agglo Hérault Méditerranée

Dan Criado, logistics director, explains the use of telematics for a fleet of 390 vehicles covering 20 municipalities and 800,000 inhabitants. The goals:

Measuring and reducing energy consumption.
Obtain better visibility on the environmental impact.
Optimize the use of vehicles, in particular through eco-driving and carsharing.
Ensure the protection of agents and the proper use of vehicles.

Mobility Tech Green: telematics and sustainable mobility

This company offers a complete telematics solution integrating a customizable dashboard. It focuses on:

Support for sustainable mobility.
Encouraging responsible conduct.
The identification of profiles adapted to electric vehicles.
A potential saving of 15% on fuel consumption thanks to eco-driving.
Anticipated maintenance with a gain of up to 25%.

Targa Telematics: focus on fuel

Targa Telematics offers Targa Lite, a solution that analyzes the use of plug-in hybrids:

80% of the hybrids studied drive only 30% of the time in electric mode.
The tool makes it possible to assign vehicles to drivers compatible with electric mode.
The more refills, the more costs and emissions are reduced (33% less CO₂, 37% fuel savings).
Deploying Targa Lite could reduce operational costs by up to 20%.