The leasing industry has been criticised for being too slow to adopt telematics systems and failing to respond to business car fleet demands for the technology.

Tim Eaves, commercial director at telematics firm In-Car-Cleverness, told BusinessCar: “I’m surprised that [leasing companies] haven’t really worked out their own strategy [for telematics provision].

“It’s only in the last few months they’ve really decided to do something about it. They seem to have been slow to come around.” 

“They’ve been on and off the boil for years,” added Giles Margerison, sales director at TomTom Telematics.

“They’ve tried lots of different strategies, they’ve tried to create their own solutions, they’ve tried to partner and have exclusive deals and everything in between. It’s still very embryonic in this sector.” 

The specialists added that the leasing industry had only recently woken up to the concept as a result of increasing demand from fleet customers. 

Eaves said: “There has been an explosion [in telematics] across all sizes of corporates. It’s really noticeable and there has been a lot of press about it. I think it’s just something that people have now woken up to and decided it’s a good idea to invest in.” 

David Wilson, director sales and operations at Tracker, claimed leasing firms had previously been deterred by high initial investment costs, but the technology had advanced to the point where such set-up fees were no longer essential: “It was always the case that the initial set-up cost puts everyone off.

“I think the penny’s now really dropped. The industry is no longer looking at fixed-box options – you’ve got things like OBD [on-board diagnostics], you’ve got smartphones, you’ve got so many options now, so it’s much more achievable and we’ve seen hands going up saying ‘I want this, I want that’. 

“It’s only in the last few years that telematics providers have really got their head around how to do things like driver behaviour accurately, and that’s worth a lot of money, I would have thought, to big leasing groups.”

In response to the claims, a spokesperson for the BVRLA said: “[Our] members have used a wide range of telematics products for many years, but how, where and when they are used will depend on cost, return on investment and a wide variety of other customer requirements.

“Affordability and functionality continue to improve and the advent of the connected car and increased use of smartphones are set to revolutionise the way fleets are managed and driven.”

Margerison said he had seen an increase in interest from car fleets where there had previously been poor demand, but claimed that leasing companies were still dragging their heels. 

“This year more than last we are seeing more of an uptake in car fleets,” he said. “That’s kind of the Holy Grail because our heartland was usually trucks and vans, and businesses [running cars] weren’t always willing to go there. [The change is because of] risk, duty of care, HMRC and things like insurance being cheaper. 

“I don’t even particularly see any evidence of any change [from lease firms] in the last few months. I think the leasing industry is still scratching its head.”