Installed Base of Fleet Management Systems to Reach 7.1 M. in Europe by 2018: Berg Insight

Driven by rapid advancement of information, communication and telecom technologies, vehicle fleet management is becoming an inevitable trend worldwide, especially in industrially advanced nations.

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in Europe was 3.65 million in Q4,  2013. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2%, this number is expected to reach 7.1 million by 2018.

A group of international aftermarket solution providers have emerged as the leaders on the European fleet management market. Masternaut reported an active installed base of close to 350,000 units in July 2014, mainly in France and the U.K. TomTom Telematics was the fastest growing vendor also in 2014 and has now surpassed 400,000 subscribers in August 2014. The two companies  share the No. 1 spot in terms of active installed base in Europe. Digicore has also joined the exclusive group of fleet management providers in Europe having more than 100,000 active devices in the field.

A major trend in the past three years has been the announcements of standard line fitment of fleet management solutions among the heavy-duty commercial vehicle (HCV) manufacturers. Scania, Daimler, Volvo and MAN now experience fast growth of telematics subscribers thanks to these initiatives. FleetBoard by Daimler, Dynafleet by Volvo and Scania Fleet Management have sold the most with cumulative shipments of 150,000 units, 135,000 units and 100,000 units, respectively as of Q4, 2013, Berg Insight says.

A recent trend is that light commercial vehicle (LCV) manufacturers increasingly work together with aftermarket players to offer fleet management solutions. PSA Peugeot Citroen has for instance launched a new fleet management service on the French market in partnership with Orange Business Services in April 2014. Ford and Telogis recently partnered to deliver fleet management solutions to Ford customers in Europe. Teletrac has moreover for a long time collaborated with vehicle makers on the UK market, including Citroen and Mercedes-Benz. M&A activities continuing with  full force in 2014.

“Seven major mergers and acquisitions have so far taken place this year among the vendors of fleet management systems in Europe”, said Johan Fagerberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. At the beginning of 2014, Qualcomm finally divested also the majority of the European arm of its fleet business to Astrata Group, a fleet management company headquartered in Singapore. Later in February, WABCO acquired Transics and the transaction valued the company at about € 100 million. Lysanda acquired UK-based TRACKER Network in February and plans to establish Tantalum Corporation from the combined business. In April, TomTom also acquired the French FM provider DAMS Tracking, adding another 27,000 subscriptions to the installed base. Francisco Partners moreover divested Masternaut to Summit Partners and FleetCor in the same month. In July 2014, Zucchetti Group acquired a majority share of Macnil from its founders. The latest transaction was done in October 2014 when Finder acquired its Polish competitor Autoguard to form the largest FMS provider in Poland. Fagerberg anticipates that the market consolidation of the still overcrowded industry will continue in 2015.