Guides
What is telematics as applied to a company fleet?
Data sources, information collected, machinery and CNIL rules: what telematics changes for fleet management.
Louise Duplaceau
Responsable Marketing & Communication
Fleet telematics connects each vehicle or machine to an online platform that continuously receives its position, mileage and engine data. The fleet manager can then manage fuel, maintenance and usage based on real data, within the limits set by the CNIL (the French data protection authority) for vehicles assigned to employees.
This connection already exists in most recent vehicles. Since 31 March 2018, European Regulation 2015/758 has required an eCall emergency call system, and therefore a communication module, on all new types of cars and light commercial vehicles approved in the EU. Manufacturers now open up part of this module’s data to fleet management platforms. On Fleeti Telematics, 35 vehicle and machinery brands send their data without a tracking device, and more than 40,000 vehicles and machines are connected in total (Fleeti data, 2026). Older vehicles, trailers and construction machinery use a tracking device or dedicated sensors.
Telematics: origin of the term and its current meaning in fleet management
Telematics refers to the combination of telecommunications and computing to transmit and process data remotely. Applied to a fleet, it covers the whole chain: collecting information in the vehicle, sending it over the mobile network, then processing it on a platform used by the fleet manager.
The word was popularised in France by the Nora-Minc report on the computerisation of society. It was first used for consumer online services. Its meaning has since narrowed to connected objects, and above all to vehicles.
On-board telematics and management platform
On-board telematics is the part installed in the vehicle: the manufacturer’s module, a retrofitted tracking device or sensors. The management platform receives this data, formats it and triggers alerts. The two parts work together: a tracking device without a platform produces no usable KPIs.
Fleet telematics and consumer telematics
Fleet telematics supports management decisions across dozens or hundreds of vehicles. Connected services sold to private individuals (manufacturer app, roadside assistance) track a single vehicle and aggregate nothing. For a fleet, the value comes from comparing vehicles, drivers and sites.
How does vehicle telematics work?
A telematics-equipped vehicle records measurements at regular intervals and sends them over the mobile network to a server, then the platform converts them into journeys, KPIs and alerts. The fleet manager views the results on a web or mobile dashboard, without touching the vehicle.
The sending frequency depends on the source and the use case. Real-time position tracking sends several points per minute, while a mileage reading can make do with a daily update.
Three data sources: manufacturer, tracking device, sensors
The manufacturer connection is the quickest to deploy. The vehicle sends its data to the manufacturer’s server, which passes it on to the platform via API, with no installation. The tracking device plugs into the diagnostic port or the vehicle’s electrical system. It is used for models not covered by their manufacturer and for machinery. Sensors complete the setup: temperature of a refrigerated body, tank level, door opening.
Transmission over the mobile network
Data travels over the cellular network, like a phone. When the vehicle passes through an area with no coverage, the device stores the measurements and sends them once the signal returns. Local storage matters for remote construction sites and rounds in rural areas, in France as in Africa.
Data processing on the platform
The platform rebuilds journeys, calculates distances and compares each measurement with thresholds. It also links external sources: fuel cards, contracts, maintenance invoices. Cross-referencing these sources turns a GPS position into a cost per kilometre.
Telematics, GPS tracking and telemetry: three distinct concepts
GPS tracking gives a vehicle’s position, telemetry measures a value remotely, and telematics covers the whole chain that collects and uses these measurements. A fleet telematics system therefore uses both GPS tracking and telemetry.
The three terms are often used interchangeably in sales offers. Yet the distinction has a practical consequence when comparing two solutions.
GPS tracking: one data point among others
A GPS tracker alone answers the question “where is the vehicle?”. It says nothing about consumption, fault codes or engine hours.
Telemetry: measuring remotely
Telemetry refers to reading a physical value remotely: engine speed, temperature, pressure. In a vehicle, it mainly concerns data from the engine control unit. A telematics platform relies on these measurements to produce its KPIs.
Data collected by on-board telematics
A connected vehicle transmits four families of data: its position and journeys, its mileage, its engine status including consumption, and driving behaviour. The level of detail depends on the source. The manufacturer connection and the tracking device do not always read the same information on the same model.
Position, journeys and mileage
The platform records GPS points, reconstructs each journey and totals the kilometres driven. It identifies departure and arrival times, stops and their duration. The odometer reading is the basis for lease contracts and maintenance plans.
Engine data, fuel and fault codes
The vehicle’s control unit provides the fuel level, consumption, operating hours and fault codes. A sudden drop in the fuel level while the vehicle is stationary signals fuel siphoning. A fault code reported before the vehicle goes to the garage leaves time to order the part.
Driving behaviour and additional sensors
Harsh acceleration, braking and cornering feed into a score for each driver. Sensors add measurements specific to the business: temperature of a refrigerated truck, tipper body opening, power take-off on a machine.
How fleet managers use telematics
Telematics is first used to reduce operating costs: fuel, maintenance, claims and administrative time. It replaces manual readings and driver declarations with time-stamped measurements, which the fleet manager compares vehicle by vehicle to spot those that drift.
Some Fleeti customers see 15% fuel savings after installation (Fleeti data). The result depends on the fleet’s starting point and the actions taken afterwards with drivers.
Fuel and costs
Cross-referencing fuel cards, tank level and kilometres driven reveals inconsistent fill-ups. The fleet manager also identifies vehicles whose consumption exceeds that of identical models on comparable rounds.
Maintenance triggered by actual use
Maintenance scheduled on actual mileage or engine hours avoids both premature servicing and missed services. Methods for reducing maintenance costs are based on these readings.
Business mileage and benefits in kind
For a company car, the platform separates business and private journeys. The journey log is used to calculate the benefit in kind on an actual-cost basis and to manage it vehicle by vehicle.
See the Fleeti Telematics platform in a demo
An advisor walks you through the platform: journeys, consumption, maintenance and alerts, with the data available for each brand via manufacturer connection or tracking device.
Telematics for machinery and mixed fleets
Construction machinery, generators and unregistered equipment can also be tracked by telematics, with a different unit of measurement: engine hours replace kilometres. A mixed fleet thus brings together cars, vans, heavy goods vehicles and machinery on the same platform, with KPIs adapted to each category.
Most machines do not have a usable manufacturer connection. A battery-powered tracking device or a standalone sensor then takes over.
Engine hours: the unit of measurement for machinery
An excavator or a loader wears out in operating hours, not kilometres. Automatic engine hour readings trigger oil changes at the right time and serve as the basis for billing machinery that is rented out or made available to a construction site.
A single dashboard for a mixed fleet
When vehicles and machinery are tracked in two separate tools, the real cost of a construction site has to be rebuilt by hand. A single platform assigns each asset to a site and adds up the costs. The guide to company fleet management describes this organisation for a mixed fleet.
What rules govern telematics in France?
In France, telematics on a vehicle assigned to an employee falls under the GDPR and the CNIL’s recommendations. The employer must have a permitted purpose, inform each employee and the works council (CSE), limit the retention period and let the driver deactivate tracking outside working hours.
The CNIL rules concern personal data. They apply as soon as a vehicle is assigned to an identifiable person, whatever the data source.
Permitted purposes and prohibited uses
The CNIL allows GPS tracking to bill a transport service, protect the employee or the vehicle, allocate jobs and, as a secondary purpose, monitor working time when no other means exists. It rules out checking compliance with speed limits, permanent monitoring and tracking employees who are free to organise their own travel, such as field sales staff.
Retention periods and informing employees
Location data should in principle not be kept for more than two months, one year when it is used to optimise rounds or prove that a job was carried out, and five years for working time monitoring (CNIL, “La géolocalisation des véhicules des salariés” fact sheet, 2023). On the Fleeti platform, history can be viewed over a rolling twelve months, limited to two months in France (Fleeti data). An employer who refused to give an employee access to their GPS tracking data was fined €10,000 by the CNIL.
How do you choose a telematics solution for your fleet?
The first criterion is coverage of the existing fleet: the solution must read data from every brand and every type of asset without multiplying tools. Next come openness of data to the company’s software and the deployment time.
A trial on a few representative vehicles quickly reveals the differences between two offers. The same KPIs must come through for a recent car, an older van and a machine.
Compatibility with the brands in your fleet
A fleet often includes several manufacturers and several generations of vehicles. The solution must combine manufacturer connection for recent models and a tracking device for the others, without creating two interfaces.
Opening your data to your tools
Telematics data becomes more valuable once it is linked to accounting, payroll or the ERP. Check for a documented API and programmable exports before signing.
Deployment time
Deployment determines when the first KPIs become usable. At Fleeti, three weeks separate kick-off from full autonomy, in four phases (Fleeti data).
Frequently asked questions about fleet telematics
What is the difference between telematics and GPS tracking?
GPS tracking only gives the vehicle’s position. Telematics covers the whole collection and processing chain, which includes position but also mileage, engine data, consumption and driving behaviour.
Do you need to install a tracking device to use telematics?
Not on recent vehicles whose manufacturer opens up its data: the connection is made via API, with no installation. A tracking device is still useful for older models, trailers and most construction machinery.
What does on-board telematics mean?
On-board telematics refers to the part installed in the vehicle: manufacturer module, tracking device or sensors. It collects measurements and sends them to the platform, which turns them into KPIs.
Is telematics legal on employees’ vehicles?
Yes, provided the CNIL rules are followed: a permitted purpose, informing the employee and the works council (CSE), a limited retention period and the option to deactivate tracking outside working hours.
What data can a fleet manager use?
They can use position and journeys, mileage, engine hours, consumption, fault codes and driving score. Sensors add measurements specific to the business, such as the temperature of a refrigerated body.
What is telematics for a company fleet?
Telematics connects each vehicle or machine in a fleet to an online platform. Position, mileage, fuel consumption and engine data are sent continuously over the mobile network. The fleet manager can then track costs, maintenance and usage based on real data, within the framework set by the CNIL for vehicles assigned to employees.
