Features
30 Nov 18

Geotab Mobility Connect: why telematics and EVs need each other

Global telematics provider Geotab hosted a special half-day event in the margin of the 2018 Fleet Europe Summit in Barcelona, inviting international fleet managers and other stakeholders to get familiar with in-vehicle data collection, transmission, analysis and leverage.

The main theme of Geotab’s very first European conference was the connection and integration of energy and mobility. In other words: the close link between adoption of EVs and telematics. Judging by the amount of attendees – some 130 in total – and their enthusiasm, the theme was spot on.

Open access please

Edward Kulperger, VP Europe, revealed interesting findings from a recently conducted study in the UK. Key takeaway? With CO2 emissions, gridlock and fuel cost increasing, nobody doubts that electrification is the only way forward. In fact, 89 percent of fleets intend to go electric ahead of the government’s 2030 goal.

Diving into AI was Mike Branch, Vice President, Data & Analytics at Geotab. He explained how Google Duplex can be of added value to Geotab, especially in a concept called Smart City Insight. Sensor Data combined with ‘BigQuery’ and AI allows you to predict dangerous driving, hyper local weather down to 500 ft, vehicle movement and traffic patterns.

Dirk Schlimm, Executive Vice President at Geotab, provided answers as to whether it is time for a vehicle owner data bill of rights. “Data is the oxygen of any business. Also, cars must process data securely and prevent unauthorized access to data or control systems. Paradoxically, open design and separation of privilege are the best defence.”

Stefano Peduzzi, European Director, Geotab, elaborated on the future of the OBD Port and Access to In-Vehicle Data. “The Neutral Vehicle platform provides an end-to-end framework for transferring rich vehicle data from the ground to the cloud and back. The development of advanced applications and services by third parties becomes possible through a platform constructed with security, scale and interoperability.”

Telematics is an EV's best friend

Stijn Otten, Expert in Future Mobility & Future Energy, explained how the existing business models offer no guarantees for the future and that connecting to energy is the next step. “E-mobility has a logical link with local energy.”

Matt Stevens, CEO, Fleetcarma - a Geotab Company made clear how telematics support EV adoption, management and smart charging. It all starts with an electric vehicle suitability assessment (EVSA) and goes all the way through to dynamically managing EV load while ensuring operational availability of the cars.

Finally, Colin Sutherland, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing closed the content-rich and inspirational Mobility Connect session at the Fleet Europe Summit with a presentation entitled Think Local, Act Global: Fleet Solutions Best Practices.

To get a taste of Geotab’s possibilities, you can get access to some free hourly updated data reports on data.geotab.com.

 

 

Authored by: Dieter Quartier