Aftermarket Car Telematics 6th Edition

Telematics is a broad term that may be applied to a wide range of automotive connectivitysolutions. Berg Insight’s definition of an aftermarket car telematics solution in this report includestelematics devices created by a company other than the carmakers and are retrofitted into carsmainly via OBD-II and blackbox devices based on both cellular/GNSS and RF technology. Theconnected car is a major trend in the automotive industry and virtually all of the world’s leadingcarmakers have launched mass-market services in key regions. The OEM initiatives can be seenas competition for the aftermarket solutions, but there is still a growing demand for different formsof aftermarket car telematics services. Aftermarket telematics still has a dominant position in themarket in many parts of the world. Several categories of aftermarket car telematics applicationshave become popular including roadside assistance, stolen vehicle tracking (SVT), vehiclediagnostics, usage-based insurance, dealer and inventory management, Wi-Fi hotspot as wellas other convenience applications targeting consumers.

The addressable market for aftermarket car telematics solutions is significant. At the end of 2024,there were an estimated 1.4 billion passenger cars and light trucks registered worldwide. Eventhough aftermarket car telematics services face competition from smartphone-only solutions andOEM solutions, Berg Insight is of the opinion that the aftermarket car telematics market is still in a growth phase. Berg Insight estimates that total shipments of aftermarket car telematics systemsreached 26.5 million units worldwide in 2024. Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2percent, shipments are expected to reach 39.3 million units in 2029. The number of aftermarketcar telematics systems in active use is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of8.7 percent from 90.3 million in 2024 to 136.8 million worldwide in 2029. The penetration rate willat the same time grow from 6.3 percent in 2024 to 8.5 percent at the end of the forecast period.

The market is characterised by a great diversity of players interacting in a complex value chainthat spans multiple industries. The car telematics companies targeting the aftermarket car sectorinclude specialists focusing on this application area only as well as general telematics playersthat serve a broad range of applications including also for example fleet management forcommercial vehicles. The leading aftermarket car telematics solution providers have reachedinstalled bases in the millions. Leading car telematics solution vendors include OCTOTelematics, Procon Analytics, StarLine, Spireon, Targa Telematics, Vodafone Automotive, Ituran,PassTime GPS, Tracker Connect Maxtrack, Carsystem, SVR Tracking and Cognosos. The mostcommon go-to-market strategy is to partner with insurance companies, dealers, OEMs, MNOsand vehicle finance companies. Leading companies delivering telematics hardware and relatedservices to the aftermarket car telematics market include Teltonika, Jimi IoT, Queclink, ERM Advanced Telematics, Xirgo, BSJ Technology, Positioning Universal, Danlaw, ST SUNLAB,Gosuncn RichLink, Ruptela and Munic.

Stolen vehicle recovery and security-related telematics applications are mature aftermarket cartelematics applications. Regional market conditions such as a high level of vehicle crimeinfluence the demand for stolen vehicle tracking and have made SVT solutions popular incountries such as Brazil, Argentina, China, Israel, Russia and South Africa. Vehicle theft hasincreased in recent years in many countries. For example, there were thefts of about 0.9 millionmotor vehicles in the US in 2024 according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). BergInsight forecasts that the number of active aftermarket SVT units in use worldwide will reach103.4 million in 2029, up from 67.0 million at year-end 2024.

Telematics has become an important part of the aftersales programmes of dealers and vehiclefinance companies, enabling remote diagnostics and direct communication with drivers. Thereis a tremendous opportunity to turn a reactive way of managing customers into a proactiveprocess by integrating CRM solutions, using data from cars intelligently. Collecting data from thefleet on the lot is also valuable for dealers in order to for example collect information about faultycomponents and software bugs as well as battery status. Direct-to-consumer car telematicsofferings are available to varying degrees in many regions by companies such as Verizon, Mojio,Varroc Connect, Tail Light (Bouncie), Agnik (Vyncs), Net4Things, Air, LandAirSea, Uffizio(Trakzee Mini), Comodif and Protectus Technologies (CarLock). Many direct-to-consumer cartelematics providers have broadened their product portfolios to include additional telematicsapplication areas such as fleet management as well as powering B2B2C telematics services.