Blogs
17 June 2025
Reading Time: 7 mins
Eseye
IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists
LinkedInThe global automotive telematics market is being driven by a number of factors. A growing demand for fleet management solutions within transport, logistics and fulfilment verticals, and the electric and autonomous consumer vehicle boom.
In all cases, demand for higher-performance, more fuel-efficient, and technologically advanced vehicles is encouraging adoption of automotive telematics systems in vehicle types from trucks to buses, to cars to motorbikes and scooters.
The evolution of fleet connectivity
Automotive telematics helps fleet operators improve their operations by tracking vehicle location in real-time, monitoring fuel consumption, optimizing routes, and reducing operational expenses.
Telematics technology merges onboard vehicle software and sensor hardware systems with wireless connectivity to enable remote monitoring, diagnostics, tracking, and management of the vehicle. Hundreds of onboard sensors are enabled by IoT, along with GPS and cloud computing to provide real-time information on vehicle location, speed, fuel consumption, maintenance and parts failure, driver behavior, and safety.
For years, one of the biggest obstacles to vehicle telematics was incompatibility between systems. But more recently, prominent players such as Ford Motor Company have made efforts to expand their existing telematics offerings, making them compatible with different vehicle models, defragmenting and expanding the ecosystem and fueling the growth of the market. The availability of plug and play units means telematics modules can be added to other vehicle brands after-market, enabling the same fleet management solution to be used across the enterprise regardless of manufacturer.
These enterprise fleet management systems help determine optimal routes for transport and delivery, improving the overall fuel efficiency of the vehicle and in some cases the customer experience. Telematics can also trigger auto shut off during idle time, for example if the vehicle is in traffic or at a stop light to further avoid fuel waste.
For business vehicles such as delivery trucks and couriers, predictive maintenance capabilities within telematics solutions enable companies to detect and repair mechanical and electrical problems before they become serious, helping avoid unscheduled maintenance and keeping vehicles on the road longer.
Newer automotive telematics systems can even aid in renewal of the registration and licensing of the vehicle or create data points that can contribute to annual roadworthiness tests.
For consumer cars, rentals, and passenger vehicles like taxis and buses, IoT sensors can assist in the collection and reporting of the driver braking statistics, fuel economy, hours-in-service, and idle time, as well as some aspects of driver behavior, like acceleration, which can be used by insurance companies.
Telematics can also enable safety features and in Europe, for example, there is a regulatory requirement for an eCall-in-vehicle emergency service that automatically dials for help in case of a road accident.
Why global automotive telematics matters now
The connected car has been a major trend in the automotive industry for many years, and all the world’s leading carmakers have mass-market connectivity services available in key regions. Furthermore, innovations in IoT and automotive telematics along with improved interoperability between manufacturers and systems indicate that the market is ripe and ready for adoption of enhanced telematics for fleet management, insurance, automotive manufacturing, logistics and more.
In fact, Berg Insight estimates that nearly 75% of all new cars sold worldwide in 2023 were equipped with OEM embedded telematics. But there is also a growing demand for different forms of aftermarket telematics services. At the end of 2022, an estimated 1.52 billion vehicles were registered worldwide, and Berg Insight has found that 47.3 million aftermarket telematics hardware devices were sold globally during 2023.
Examples of telematics applications include eCall and roadside assistance, stolen vehicle tracking, vehicle and maintenance diagnostics, connected navigation and infotainment, WiFi hotspot with cellular backhaul, over-the-air software updates, usage-based insurance, leasing and rental fleet management, as well as electronic charging enhancements.
Key GA telematics features and trends
Connected and autonomous vehicles
Telematics plays a crucial role in enabling connected vehicles, allowing for remote monitoring, diagnostics, and management of vehicle operational, navigation and infotainment systems.
For autonomous and self-driving vehicles, IoT automotive telematics is even more important as the multitude of sensors, cameras and navigation aids used are responsible for the safety of the passengers and other road users.
Convenience features for connected cars include remote vehicle unlocking and starting, and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging management, where telematics can help optimize EV charging by coordinating with power grids.
Safety and security
As well as being responsible for the navigation and control of connected and autonomous vehicles, automotive telematics systems provide real-time vehicle tracking, emergency assistance via applications like eCall, and driver behavior monitoring, as well as security features for unattended vehicles.
Stolen vehicle recovery applications can also help locate and recover stolen vehicles.
Fleet management
Telematics solutions are widely used in fleet management to track vehicle locations, optimize routes, monitor driver performance, and manage maintenance schedules. Telematics can also be used in driver behavior analysis, looking at acceleration, braking, and other behaviors, and to identify and address fuel-wasting habits like idling or aggressive driving.
Insurance
Telematics data can be used to personalize insurance premiums based on driver behavior and vehicle usage, assess driver risk, and provide claims management. Data insights can also help insurance companies assess risks and adjust premiums accordingly.
Vehicle diagnostics and maintenance
Telematics can provide real-time data on vehicle performance and identify potential problems before they become serious. This can help both fleet operators and consumers avoid unplanned maintenance and keep vehicles in optimum condition.
Technological advancements in automotive telematics
The main options for deployment of automotive telematics are embedded telematics devices, tethered devices and integrated smartphones. For embedded solutions, connectivity and intelligence can be built into the car, complete with on-board compute and a variety of dashboards and user interfaces. Tethered solutions provide on-board enhancements but rely on the driver’s smartphone for connectivity, while solutions relying on integrated smartphones leverage the connectivity and intelligence built into the smartphone.
Car manufacturers use a combination of these options to support different customer needs and demands in various markets, although parallel trends are driving adoption of even more advanced on-board intelligent solutions.
For example, the integration of AI, machine learning, and advanced data analytics is enhancing telematics capabilities, leading to better safety, predictive maintenance and driver assistance features.
Autonomous vehicles are one of the AI-combined-with-IoT sectors with significant potential because vehicles provide considerable real estate for the integration of multiple sensors and the opportunity to embed AI capabilities and local compute in the same device. Vehicles rely on multiple video cameras and sensor systems to gather data about nearby vehicles, driving conditions and even look for pedestrians and hazards.
Challenges in global fleet connectivity and telematics
The suppliers of OEM automotive telematics are generally established automotive suppliers that develop solutions in cooperation with car manufacturers. This is because the design and development of automotive telematics systems is complex, as these must integrate with vehicle systems, fulfil strict quality standards and ensure reliable performance during the long lifecycle of a vehicle.
Another challenge is handling connectivity across a complex geographical landscape, as vehicles naturally move in and out of cellular coverage, occasionally crossing international boundaries, making it sometimes difficult to provide truly seamless connected services if using roaming.
Some solutions include ‘buffer content’ that pre-loads before coverage is lost, and satellite fallback is considered in some cases but adds additional complexity and cost.
5G Reduced Capability (RedCap), also known as 5G NR-Light, has the potential to become popular as a connectivity solution, especially among entry-level vehicles. As a streamlined version of 5G, the key benefit here is that RedCap is somewhat futureproofed to 4G LTE sunsets as a complementary technology that can coexist with 4G and 5G and be transitioned to in the future.
Finally, automotive telematics systems, like many IoT segments, face privacy and security concerns. The more data that is generated and stored by the sensors on the vehicle, the more data there is at risk of being accessed by hackers or third parties.
In some cases, data protection laws like the GDPR make the installation of automotive telematics systems complicated.
Furthermore, in 2020, researchers identified vulnerabilities in the telematics systems of several car models that revealed personal information and vehicle control functions. So, motor fleets, vehicle manufacturers, and insurers collecting and storing vehicle data need to have adequate security measures in place to prevent privacy violations.
The role of eSIMs in redefining fleet connectivity
Not only do vehicles move, sometimes across borders, but the manufacturing process could involve multiple geographies as well. So, in some cases, vehicles might need to maintain connectivity in one market, where they are assembled before being shipped, and overcome the permanent roaming limitations being imposed in the country.
Eseye’s multi-IMSI AnyNet+ eSIMs provides a seamless IoT connectivity solution that meets such demanding requirements.
Having signed agreements with every major mobile network operator across the globe, Eseye delivers access to more than 800 networks in over 190 countries through our AnyNet Federation. The result? Near 100% connectivity uptime that avoids the risks of permanent roaming – including your devices being disconnected with little or no notice.
Multi-IMSI eSIMs can be loaded with multiple network user profiles, allowing localization to the owner’s market, and prioritizes network choice by connectivity quality. If there’s any drop in performance or outage, the AnyNet+ eSIM switches the device automatically to an alternative network.
This level of connectivity reliability is essential for safety and supports the eCall feature in case of emergencies.
In terms of telematics module hardware integration, AnyNet SMARTconnect™ helps you install adaptable connectivity intelligence and optimization straight on to any device at scale, without the need to hire connectivity engineers.
Real-world use cases
Zero Motorcycles manufactures cutting-edge electric motorcycles that it ships worldwide, producing up to 10,000 vehicles a year, which are bought by customers in 32 countries.
The Zero SR/F’s unique features are enabled by IoT connectivity that supports two-way communication between the bike and the driver, and Zero Motorcycles itself – all powered by Eseye’s multi-IMSI AnyNet+ eSIMs.
A hardware partner, t42, provides its Helios system as a complete turnkey solution, with built-in IoT connectivity powered by Eseye’s white-labelled AnyNet+ eSIMs. The Helios system combines GPS and GSM technology to monitor and protect the bikes, and provide real-time data on location, speed, power consumption, and battery status, as well as safety alerts, for riders.
The road ahead
The next generation of connected vehicles will drive demand for more reliable connectivity and greater bandwidth to support ever more sophisticated telematics. As a result, data consumption from connected cars and automotive telematics will ramp up in the next few years to tens of GB of data per year, more than ten times the amount of data consumed by the average connected car today.
All of this will drive demand for ever more reliable and futureproof connectivity.
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