A report from the analyst firm Berg Insight says that the number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial fleets in Europe was 1.5 million in Q4-2009, an increase of 15.4% year-on-year. 

Despite a lacklustre market heavily affected by the general economic downturn and sluggish new vehicle sales, some players such as TomTom WORK and DigiCore have managed to achieve strong growth. Together with Masternaut, they have joined the exclusive group of fleet management providers in Europe having more than 100,000 devices in the field.

And the company says that growth is expected to continue in 2010, with a slightly increased growth rate of 16.7%.

'The adoption of telematics technology among commercial fleets is progressing,' said Johan Fagerberg, senior analyst, Berg Insight. 'Businesses cannot afford to be inefficient, but in difficult times some cannot afford to make the initial investments that would reduce costs in the longer term.'

However, Berg Insight says that there will be increased consolidation in the industry, which is still overcrowded.

Mr Fagerberg said: 'We believe in a scenario where a group of financially strong international players will gradually squeeze out their local smaller competitors. Some will be acquired, but many more will simply be forced out of business.'