Interviews
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Fabio Acorci, Ituran Brazil: Preventing vehicle theft in Latin America

One of the main concerns of corporate fleets in Brazil and much of Latin America is theft prevention, something that Tel Aviv based multinational vehicle tracking and recovery company Ituran specializes in.

Although approximately 700,000 of its 1.8 million customers are in Brazil alone, corporate commercial director Fabio Acorci is set on increasing the company’s footprint even more in the country and throughout Latin America.

How did Ituran get started and what Latin American countries is the company focused on?

Acorci: During its establishment some 20 years ago, Ituran first started by working with the Israeli Army, with a focus on pilot recovery. And nowadays, it provides fleet management support for the government on a broader scale.

In Latin America, we are operating in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Could you tell me a bit about the services Ituran offers?
Acorci: One of our business units is "Ituran Gold Track" which is a service aimed at supporting vehicle recoveries and a call service for emergencies and vehicle breakdowns.

We also have "Ituran com Seguro", where we work hand-in-hand with insurance companies to track and recover vehicles, an excellent addition to insurance policies as it helps our clients save money. In some cases, we offer "Ituran Comodato" where insurance companies make installing vehicle tracking technologies a requirement.

Finally, we offer an array of Fleet Management services. By using telematics and our CAN Bus (Controller Area Network system) reader, our software can identify and evaluate driver behavior, improving factors such as fleet safety and fuel efficiency.

We help manage fuel fraud, fuel card usage, vehicle and tire maintenance, and data such as kilometers per liter and kilometers per commute. By reading the CAN Bus, Ituran can even read dashboard alerts remotely and then send recommendations to fleet managers.

Network Control Center, Ituran Brazil (source: Ituran)
 

Are there any particularities about Brazil that our readers should be aware of?

Acorci: Brazil is more focused on mitigating the risk of theft as opposed to improving efficiency by reducing operational costs. Regarding cargo trucks, the bottom line is cutting down on the incidents of robberies, and that means theft to cargo as well as the truck itself.

For passenger cars, Brazil could be better at focusing on driver safety. While the best-selling cars in the market have air conditioning, power steering, and sometimes airbags, they do not have features such as rear-view cameras and parking sensors. Many of these types of things are required in Israel.

Moreover, although theft is of concern in the country, insuring cars is not a top priority when it comes to passenger cars. Only about 30% of the cars in Brazil are insured.

Many car owners prefer to pay for a nice sound system than to get insurance or even to replace balding tires. While insurance coverage [3rd party property damage] in countries like Argentina is mandatory, it is not in Brazil.

Brazil has much more to advance in terms of connectivity. While Ambulances in Israel are conveniently disbursed through a mobile app which locates the ambulance closest to the emergency, services such as this are far from being implemented in Brazil.

Finally, could you tell me a bit about who your clients are?

Acorci: Well, insurance companies are our main partners, so companies like Mapfre, Liberty, and HD. Most insurance companies are in search of vehicle tracking services to help curb their losses.

We can’t go without saying that our clients are also automakers. For the most part, the larger suppliers in Brazil are among those showing interest.

Authored by: Daniel Bland
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