Features
27 avr 22

Fleet LatAm Conference 2022: "Latam countries prioritise safety in telematics"

LATAM is a challenging region for adopting telematics amid the increasing global issues such as fuel prices and supply chain disruptions. Yet, local and multinational companies realise the value of telematics to face the inevitable evolution in the fleet industry. In the exclusive panel of Fleet Latam Conference 2022, Eduardo Canicoba, AVP Country Manager Brazil at Geotab and Fernando Ferreira, Channel Sales Director, Latin America at Lytx, provided a comprehensive current view of the LATAM market and how they are helping companies to adopt telematics to reach safety and sustainability. 

The panel, moderated by Global Fleet Editor in Chief Steven Schoefs and Global Fleet Americas Editor Daniel Bland, revealed that LATAM is the process of discovering the benefits of telematics, and safety is the first motivation to adopt and learn the value of telematics. 

"The trend is discovering telematics"

The complexity of LATAM requires Geotab and Lytx to pursue specific strategies to strengthen ties across the region. While Geotab employs local teams to improve relations with companies, Ltyx focuses on customised solutions for clients to spread the value of telematics. No matter the global challenges such as increasing energy prices and supply chain disruptions, the demand will continuously improve, both experts say. 

"The use of telematics will become more important to track and measure what is going on the roads effectively", says Canicoba. "Security is specifically important in the region, and the transportation industry will require telematics to be more productive." 

"Adopting our strategy to the specific needs in the region is the key", says Ferreira. Whether a multinational or local company, the primary goal of using video telematics appears to be increasing safety. Ferreira believes that meeting the demands of companies will also boost the adoption of video telematics. 

Geotab estimates that the telematics penetration in LATAM is below 5%, while Ltyx estimates it is below 1% for video telematics. Two experts say the demands and goals of companies differ heavily, and fleet managers realise the benefits of telematics they wouldn't ask for five years ago.

For instance, "The value of video is obvious", says Ferreira. Some fleets want to increase safety by improving driver behaviour, while some are trying to prevent cargo or fuel theft. Ltyx focuses on companies with specific needs and provides well-designed solutions for all of them. 

LATAM is still maturing, and many companies are still in the phase of differentiating telemetry and telematics, says Canicoba. "We see many big companies never used anything other than GPS, which is why there's too much potential." 

Ferreira expects the adoption of video telematics to reach 5-8% in the future, but it is hard to have a clear look at the region. Both experts say there's a lack of market research showing how and at what level companies use telematics.

"EV adoption is slow"

LATAM is maturing in telematics with a focus on safety. On the other hand, electrification and sustainability are growing at a much smaller pace. Due to a lack of government incentives and mandates on zero-emission goals, electric vehicle (EV) adoption is not well encouraged. Canicoba says the benefit of EVs is yet not fully understood, while Ferreira believes EV manufacturers shall offer solutions to support electrification in LATAM. 

Both experts say that the slow adoption of EVs is not a handicap for telematics. Telematics helps both types of LATAM fleet mainly to improve safety and fuel efficiency. Geotab gathers data from more than 200,000 EV vehicles in LATAM, while the data from ICE vehicles are much higher. "Fleet managers will be interested in getting different data after applying telematics, and they need data to compare their performance," Canicoba says. 

Stepping into telematics will help fleet managers realise many benefits, says Ferreira. "Video telematics can be of great value. You can improve safety through driver behaviour and find a precise solution to theft by seeing what happened." 

Sustainability to follow safety in LATAM

Ferreira believes that as companies move on with safety and security priorities in telematics, they will also set their sustainability goals, which will grow in parallel to other plans. He says telematics and video telematics in LATAM need five to ten years to reach maturity. 

"We safer roads and drivers, but I don't know anyone who doesn't need air", says Canicoba. He says that sustainability is a topic that can't be left unattended and is as important as other goals for fleets.

The first in-article photo shows Eduardo Canicoba, AVP Country Manager Brazil at Geotab and the second in-article photo shows Fernando Ferreira, Channel Sales Director, Latin America at Lytx.

We thank all of our sponsors of the Fleet LATAM Conference 2022:

Authored by: Mufit Yilmaz Gokmen