Why rely upon an add-on telematics device for recovering stolen cars or car repossessions, when you can leverage data directly from OEMs via the telematics device fitted at the factory? Dedicated aftermarket telematics devices, like these, can be expensive to install and maintain and not necessarily justify the investment.
Today’s connected cars generate precise GPS coordinates that are updated as frequently as every few seconds. As car manufacturers make this data more easily accessible through services like the Otonomo Platform, insurance companies, leasing and finance companies, and rental car fleets can easily take advantage of new location services. Otonomo, in near real time, cleans, shapes and enriches data delivering useful information to assist in rapid retrieval of stolen cars, missing rental cars or cars marked for repossession.
Here are three such location services that companies can easily implement today.
1. Location Services for Stolen Vehicle Recovery
In the United States, there were an estimated 748,841 motor vehicle thefts nationwide, according to the FBI. Less than 60% are recovered. The EU reported close to 700,000 motor vehicle thefts yearly, on average, across its member states from 2015 to 2017. Whether you work for an insurance company or fleet, knowing where the vehicle is located—with no delays— significantly increases the likelihood of retrieval.
2. Location Services for Repossession
Unfortunately, both traditional auto financing and leasing companies and “Buy Here-Pay Here” programs face an ongoing need to repossess vehicles when the owner or lessor is in default. In February 2019, the New York Federal Reserve reported that 7 million Americans were at least 90 days behind in their loan payments, representing 2.4% of loans. Knowing exactly where a vehicle is makes it faster and less expensive to complete the repossession process.
3. Location Services for Late or Missing Rental Cars
Rental car companies sometimes face a similar problem: A vehicle is due back, but the driver has not returned or reported being late. In this case, location services can provide useful indicators about whether the rental car company should immediately contact law enforcement or simply wait.
Why Start Using Car Data Now?
By cleansing and normalizing location data from connected vehicles and managing consent flows with automotive OEMs, the Otonomo Platform makes it practical to get location services like these operational now.
The benefits include:
- Fast time to ROI: The Otonomo Platform provides location data in human-readable formats. You can start using it right away, without developing a software application.
- Immediate reductions in operational costs: Connected car data addresses the shortcomings of dongles and other onboard devices, which are costly to install and maintain and easy to rip out.
- A pathway to additional connected car services: Once you have integrated connected car data into your operations, it becomes easier to tap into other car data points to streamline operations and provide value-added services to drivers. For example, fleet use cases incorporate location services into its route optimization software and monitor vehicle health through remote diagnostics. An insurance company could use various types of car data for risk assessments. A rental car company could offer automated parking payments to renters, to simplify their experience in a new city and eliminate parking violation headaches.
Bottom line, it does not always make sense to install an additional telematics device for the purpose of stolen car recovery or car repossession. Especially, not now that data is available directly from OEMs through the telematics device which is already fitted in the factory. Leveraging these data sources make the car tracking process cheaper and easier.
Can on demand location services add value to your business?
Reach out to us if you are interested in learning more.
