Telematics expected to grow

The global telematics market for off-highway vehicles is projected to double in size from 2014 to 2020 as a result of the expected growth in demand from end user industries including construction.

A report from Future Market Insights (FMI) said that stringent government norms concerning vehicle safety and navigation were expected to drive growth in the market further.

It said the global off-highway telematics market was expected to grow at an above average rate when compared with global automotive production.

FMI defined telematics as the technology of sending, receiving and storing information through the use of telecommunication devices.

For off-highway, the technology of sending, receiving and storing information pertaining to off-highway vehicles through telecommunication devices is generally termed as off-highway telematics, it said.

The off-highway vehicle telematics business has been witnessing rapid change over the past few years, it added, with advances in the internet, cell phones and GPS (global positioning system) receivers.

“Overall awareness of off-highway vehicle telematics has considerably increased in recent years as the technology is now perceived as a convincing solution for improving total vehicular cost of ownership,” said FMI.

It added that use of off-highway vehicle telematics acted as a readymade solution for enhancing the total cost of ownership, particularly in sectors such as mining, construction, industrial, and agricultural equipment.

The report found that North America and Europe were the largest contributors in the global off-highway vehicle telematics market. Asia Pacific was expected to register the highest CAGR (compound annual growth rate), thanks to high penetration rate of wireless technologies, increasing awareness and changing government norms.

The growth in volume of telematics-integrated vehicles is expected to grow after 2015. This growth will be fuelled by the entry of rental equipment providers into the telematics market.

It said rental fleet companies were now working towards standardisation of more advanced data feeds such as geo-fencing, immobilisation, safety devices and alerts.

Currently, off-highway vehicle telematics is still only just starting, as a result of limited awareness of the technology, according to the FMI report. However, globally, governments have been promoting the use of telematics in off-highway vehicles, and consumers have begun slowly to understand the importance, it said.