Several organizations, including MiX Telematics, OneTierra and others have even gone as far as purposefully not targeting security applications in a bid to drive demand for other telematics applications.

ABI Research believes there is somewhere in the region of 27 million commercial vehicles in operation in Latin America, highlighting the huge market potential in this region. However, unlike other regions many of the key markets like Brazil and Mexico have been focused on security applications, like stolen vehicle recovery and staying in contact with the police.

This region is not an easy market to crack and security in particular is very difficult to get right in Latin America. For example, Webtech Wireless exited the Brazilian and Mexican theft vertical recovery markets in 2012. Companies hope that by offering value-added services like driver performance, route optimization, and vehicle maintenance they will stand a better chance in this region.

Filomena Berardi, senior analyst, commented, “ABI Research forecasts that opportunities lie with a mixture of security and other value-added services. For a long time fleet managers in Latin America have been more consumed by security rather than looking at ways to make their fleet operations more efficient; however, with increasing fuel prices and other pressures to be efficient finally they are beginning to realize the ROI of telematics beyond security.”

Source: ABI Research