Driver safety followed by improving security and locating vehicles are the main reasons that UK fleets use connected car technology, research from the latest Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer shows.

Shaun Sadlier, head of consultancy at Arval

When asked, “What is the main reason your car fleet is connected by telematics?”, the top response from fleet and mobility decision makers was to improve driver safety or behaviour (37%), followed by locating vehicles and improving security (34%).

Reducing fleet costs (24%), improving operational efficiency (22%), avoiding ‘not allowed’ usage (4%), optimising car sharing (3%) and reducing environmental impact (3%) were also listed.

In total, 44% of UK fleets said that their cars were connected to a telematics tool, ranging from 50% with fewer than 10 employees to 35% with more than 1,000. This compares to responses from a basket of 19 other European countries, where on average 22% were connected.

Shaun Sadlier, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “Connected vehicle penetration is relatively high in UK car fleets, with more than four out of 10 making use of the technology.

“The most commonly-mentioned reasons for adopting connected vehicle technology are broadly to track vehicle location, control costs, monitor driver on-road behaviour and improve operational efficiency. These are all core fleet management objectives to which the technology can make very real contributions.

“The areas least mentioned by respondents are also worth examining and, of these, environmental issues are perhaps most eye-catching. Our explanation is that as fleets continue with their process of electrification, active monitoring of potential emissions is becoming less of an ongoing issue. Zero-emission cars are not an emissions worry.

“Similarly, as tax around low and zero emission vehicles has fallen, concerns around ‘not allowed usage’ have also decreased with the planned decline of diesel and petrol cars.”