The Top 7 Benefits Leasing Organizations are Getting from Telematics and Connected Car Data

Telematics data is soon to become a boon for leasing organizations that increasingly fill a critical need in the automotive aftermarket sector. Leasing organizations are quickly discovering that live vehicle connectivity and real-time data captured directly from vehicles gives them a way to alleviate many challenges that they face in a competitive industry sector rebounding from a pandemic. The following information has been pulled from the white paper entitled: “Understanding the Full Value of Telematics Data for Lease and SMR Organizations” which can be downloaded at: https://ims.tech/resources/smr/

Overview

Many lease companies currently use manual information-gathering methods in their workflow, such as contacting vehicle owners to obtain mileage data, using imprecise estimates of mileage based on prior averages, or applying fixed schedules by date only. In these cases, guesswork too often replaces actual data for determining when an oil change is due, a major service interval is approaching, or a warranty service requirement is being overlooked. Understanding customer miles-driven in real-time, as well as driving habits, can also put leasing organizations in a better position to renegotiate agreements or identify drivers who are intentionally abusing vehicles. This helps ensure there are no surprises at contract renewal. Claims handling can be made more efficient. First notice of loss (FNOL) alerts issued in real time can streamline processing. Stolen lease vehicles can be located and recovered promptly in many cases. Plus, overall benefits accrue when collaborating with SMRs that also have telematics capabilities and data exchange services that amplify business value by deriving intelligence from raw data and then sharing it with stakeholders.

Benefits gained by these organizations, which typically include these positive improvements, even in simple service arrangements:

Contractual terms based on real-time data can be renegotiated midstream to accommodate changes in the vehicle use, driver behavior, or special requirements of the lessee
Vehicle lifespans are optimized
Unexpected repairs become less frequent
Cost reduction in operations
Overall vehicle downtime is reduced, ensuring more productive use of available vehicle resources
Residual vehicle values are protected, providing greater profitability upon sale or end-of-lease arrangements

Tackling Business Challenges with Real-Time Telematics Data

The cornerstone of successful leasing organizations, is the availability of rich, real-time, extended data about the vehicles. The following table lists some of the key industry sector challenges and the ways in which telematics data can help overcome them.

Industry Sector Challenge	Telematics Solution Benefits
1 . Mileage overages on leased vehicles can generate financial penalties as well as customer dissatisfaction.	Monitoring mileage readings using telematics can raise alert if lease limits are being exceeded, allowing early re-negotiation with customers, avoiding end-of-contract surprises that can result in the loss of a lease customer. Monitoring mileage figures using telematics can assess vehicle usage at fleet levels and determine patterns that help set realistic limits for specific clients.
2. The increasing prevalence of vehicle theft, particularly in Europe, is costly to lease companies.	A covert installed telematics device can locate stolen vehicles (and leverage telematics capabilities to detect abusive driver behavior and provide useful vehicle operation details).
3. Failure to perform maintenance at set service intervals and to detect small problems with the vehicle—before they escalate—can be extremely costly and risk generating financial penalties.	Proactive maintenance linked to individual vehicle mileage and recommended OEM service intervals can minimize maintenance costs substantially. Using telematics data, service intervals can be determined remotely by odometer readings, oil levels and tire pressures can be monitored, DTC codes can be relayed, and captured data can pinpoint other problems before they worsen.
4. Coordinating and overseeing repairs can be challenging when many vehicles must be managed.	Access to real-time telematics data ensures vehicles can be proactively maintained and repaired prior to major maintenance issues so vehicles spend less time in the garage and more time on the road.
5. Claims costs and accident repairs are rising for a variety of reasons. Leasing organizations must find a way to contend with this financial drain and the inefficiencies caused if repairs take too long to complete.	Telematics-based connected claims can help facilitate claims handling and broker services so vehicles are swiftly returned to action.
6. Reckless, risky driver behavior can be damaging to the lease vehicles.	Telematics data can detect signs of reckless driving, including excess G-forces, hard acceleration and braking, speeding above posted limits, and other types of bad driving behavior. Leasing organizations can choose to reprimand bad drivers or ban them entirely from leasing any vehicles from their company or use messaging and coaching to improve behavior and risk.
7. Maintaining the value and safety of a vehicle lease fleet requires analytical skills to detect problems and predictive capabilities to aid decision-making.	Predictive analytics can be performed, linked with AI programs that ingest available data from every source and recommend appropriate remedies.

The leasing organization can enhance their operations with a stream of telematics data to inform their business, control costs, and make projections based on the outcomes of existing agreements.

To get the entire insight and information, download the full whitepaper at: https://ims.tech/resources/smr/

To learn how IMS can help your organization with real-time telematics and connected car data, visit https://ims.tech/lease/.