Telematic systems have become a staple in fleet management, becoming more sophisticated as the technology evolves. According to David Lewis, founder and CEO of MoveEV, predictions call for 88% of new vehicles to feature integrated telematics by 2025.

The growth of electric vehicle sales is driving demand, especially because EV telematics offers accurate tracking of battery usage and electricity consumption. As more fleet managers begin to transition to EVs, telematics becomes even more important, helping them determine which fleet vehicles to convert from gas to electric and when, as well as helping them keep tabs on EV charging and charging costs.

“With a telematics-based EV suitability assessment, fleet operators can leverage their own data to find the right EV for the job, in the right applications,” said Charlotte Argue, senior manager of sustainable mobility for Geotab, a telematics company based in Ontario.

Telematics systems do more, such as monitor battery health, charging status and energy consumption. This helps determine charging schedules and routes so vehicles are always ready and downtime is minimized.

For employees charging vehicles at homes, telematics provide reliable data.

“We see a lot of fleets with take-home vehicles,” Argue observed. “Managing and developing policy around home charge reimbursement can become daunting. Integrating a telematics approach can be used to create a fair and accurate method of reimbursing employees for home electricity costs.”

Municipalities have been successful in making use of telematics functions to save costs and reach emissions goals. New York City’s municipal fleet includes 28,000 telematics systems, with programming costing $3 million annually. To offset that cost, Keith Kerman, chief fleet officer and deputy commissioner at the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services, used telematics to analyze utilization in order to right-size the fleet and assess the true fuel economy of fleet vehicles, which resulted in findings that hybrids are more fuel-efficient than nonhybrids and outperform their EPA listings. Using telematics has also helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs.

Part of the cost-savings strategy in Cobb County, Ga., involves using telematics to monitor driver behavior, reduce idle times and analyze vehicle usage to right-size the fleet. By using the many tools telematics offers, fleet director Al Curtis said the county has been able to assess the real fuel economy of fleet vehicles and promote the use of more efficient options like hybrids and EVs.

In addition to these uses, new applications are appearing, including artificial intelligence tools that streamline fleet management and make data insights more accessible without the need for coding knowledge to interpret them.

Another trend involves increased integration of systems.

“Vehicles, fleet management software and charging software will all be integrated and communicate with each other to ensure vehicles are charged when they need to be and dispatch is optimized,” Lewis said. He anticipates telematics playing a critical role in optimizing fleet operations, reducing costs, and enhancing vehicle efficiency. “Fleet managers who leverage telematics will be well-positioned to meet and exceed organizational goals, driving the transition to a greener future.”