2012 European fleet managers' willingness to pay for FMS

LONDON, ENGLAND: Reportbuyer.com just published a new market research report: 2012 European Fleet Managers' Willingness to Pay for FMS.

Voice of customer study
The overall objectives of this study are to investigate typical attitudes towards fleet telematics (fleet management system solutions), to understand the key feature and service expectations, to explore perceptions and willingness to pay for fleet telematics services, to examine vendor satisfaction and brand perceptions, and to look into vendor consideration and selection criteria.

Data was collected in June and July 2012 by means of a panel-based survey in France, Germany, UK, Italy, and Benelux. A total of 155 decision makers or key influencers for fleet management solutions were surveyed and the findings showed that vehicle management and fleet security and control are currently the two most-used services.

Typical attitude toward FMS
The familiarity with FMS is very high- percentage claim to be familiar: X percentage already have it in use and X percentage are testing it. But claiming familiarity does not necessarily result in a strong understanding of FMS benefits. Connectivity/FMS plays a minor role in decision-making when purchasing a vehicle. This clearly indicates low awareness/understanding of the benefits that FMS offers.

Overall a positive attitude towards FMS can be observed-it is a "must-have" for percentage of the respondents. Attitude is more positive in large fleets as opposed to small fleets. In medium fleets, a higher percentage of respondents say that FMS is still a luxury, clearly showing the lack of awareness of FMS benefits in this segment.

Among fleets with FMS in operation, the average penetration of X percentage with fleet management units in use identifies strong additional business opportunities for fleet solution vendors. Within the target market, the sample shows a penetration of X percentage of telematics units.

Only about X percentage use integrated on-board units, while X percentage use stand-alone track and trace units-leaving significant opportunity for both existing and new vendors. Safety and security (with scores over X percentage) are considered the most important challenges.

However after-sales support is the hidden key challenge for most fleet operators today, it is also the primary criterion to switch vendors.