Cartrack – The Best Solution for Fleet Management in South Africa

For any South African fleet company with vehicles, small or large, a fleet management system is essential. This technology enhances fleet productivity and efficiency. Fleet management systems help with vehicle maintenance, driver behaviour, administration, and compliance. However, with all the fleet management options to choose from, which is best for your company? Today, we’re here to show you why we have one the best solutions for fleet management in South Africa.

Let's dig in.

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Fleet management and fleet management software explained

Fleet management is about running and taking care of all the vehicles a business uses, whether it’s two vehicles or over a hundred. It covers everything from planning trips and dispatching drivers to ensuring deliveries are made safely and on time. Fleet management ensures the entire operation runs smoothly.

Fleet management includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Conducting and organising fleet administration 
• Tracking vehicles to track task completion rates
• Monitoring driver behaviour
• Ensuring asset management
• Managing fuel consumption and fleet costs 
• Ensuring timely vehicle maintenance

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Manually, the possibility of successfully conducting these tasks is very close to nil. However, there is computer software that provides you with a way to carry out fleet management tasks all on one platform. It equips you to successfully oversee an entire fleet. This technology is known as fleet management software.

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The fleet management climate in South Africa

Before fleet management software was introduced in South Africa in the mid-90s, fleet management was manual and largely paper-based. 

Today, South Africa is offering a relatively mature fleet telematics, comparable to international standards. According to the 7th Edition of ‘Fleet Management in South Africa’, the active use of fleet management systems is set to grow by 10.3% from 2.3 million units at the end of 2023 to 3.8 million by 2028. Meanwhile, the adoption of fleet management systems across the total population of fleet vehicles is estimated to increase from 47.3% to 70%.

South Africa has a large number of low-end vehicle tracking systems, which are lightweight solutions. These include still has stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) systems, a necessity in South Africa. However, this category also covers basic features of a fleet management system, such as vehicle tracking, real-time visibility, and remote monitoring.

The South African fleet management market is dominated by five players that together represent 70% of the total number of fleet management systems in use in the country. However, Cartrack is the best full-scale fleet management solutions provider both in South Africa and globally, with over 2 million active users (to date) and around 23 global branches.

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What are the five main fleet management challenges in Southern African countries? 

The five main fleet management challenges in Southern African countries are high hijacking rates, fuel price increases, vehicle accidents, complex compliance policies and power outages. Countries in Southern Africa continue to face many socio-economic issues that have a negative impact on fleet management.

Let’s have a look at each of these factors:

1. High hijacking rates: Recently, South Africa’s hijacking rates have been alarmingly high. Not only are hijackings frightening and endangering, but they also cause huge losses for fleet-based businesses. As hijackings are on the rise, vehicle tracking should be a top priority for fleet operations in South Africa. Keeping up with the latest hijacking trends and investing in reliable vehicle tracking devices and security services will help minimise the risk of car theft and maximise the potential of stolen vehicle recovery.
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2. Increasing fuel prices: In South Africa, fuel prices have been unsteady with the consistent increase (and some decreases), causing inconsistencies in fuel costs. According to an article by The Citizen News, petrol prices in South Africa have slightly gone down. A litre of 95-unleaded petrol now costs approximately R20.72 at coastal stations, and inland rates reach R21.55. A litre of 93 unleaded now averages around R 21.47. Diesel prices have also eased, with wholesale prices at around R19.43. While these reductions offer short-term relief, fuel remains one of the most significant fleet operational costs. Investing in a fuel management system can bring your business bigger cost reductions, as it helps to track usage, cut wastage, and effectively control expenses.
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3. Load-shedding: The current state of load shedding in South Africa shows significant improvement in 2025 compared to previous years. However, the less frequent power outages still have a great impact on many business operations. Load-shedding hinders businesses’ ability to produce products and render services, thereby hindering their ability to deliver outcomes or provide delivery services. Additionally, load-shedding contributes to weak card machine signals, which causes fuel tellers to swipe fuel cards more than once in the mistaken belief that the initial transaction failed. This results in multiple transactions and extra fuel charges.
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4. Complex fleet compliance: The Southern African fleet transportation landscape differs from that of the rest of the world. In the majority of other nations, fleet owners are also “owner-drivers'' of one or more of their fleets. This makes it easier for the owner to stay in the know about the condition, utilisation, and legal status of the fleet. South Africa, on the other hand, has a lot of smaller fleet businesses as well as larger ones. This makes fleet management and compliance more challenging. To improve maintenance, you need to find the best fleet telematics system to help you easily control the condition and utilisation of the fleet, all in one place.
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5. High car accident and road fatality rates: According to the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA), South Africa has an average of 14,000 road deaths per year. This is a road safety national crisis. Some of the top causes of road accidents in the country are distracted driving, drunk driving and human error. Other causes of car accidents include j-walking, car faults, as well as weather and poor road conditions. This costs your business thousands on vehicle loss, repairs or insurance, and it may also cost an employee's life.

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South Africa's best vehicle tracking solution to improve your fleet management company 

As a fleet operating in South Africa (or any of our other 23 countries) with Cartrack Solutions, you will not have to worry about these challenges. You can still improve your fleet management and elevate it with our fleet management software and features: Here’s how:

1. Asset Protection: Our advanced IoT tracking devices combine GPS, GSM, RF, and remote jamming detection technology. This ensures that your vehicle tracking units continue providing accurate location information. We’ve got dedicated and highly-trained air and ground recovery teams that are available nationwide. Additionally, our sophisticated installation process makes it more difficult for thieves to locate and disable your device. All of these combined give us the surety that your car will be recovered, saving you hundreds of thousands of rands that could be incurred as a result of hijackings.
   
   
2. MiFleet: Cartrack’s MiFleet feature integrates, digitalises, and automates fleet admin, maintenance, and cost analysis. This way, fuel risks by employees (such as syphoning, fuel card fraud, fuel card cloning, and multiple transactions) are easily detected. MiFleet automatically alerts you to inconsistencies regarding fuel-related data. Additionally, fleet maintenance plans are automated based on car usage and diagnostics to avoid unnecessary breakdowns, downtime or fuel wastage. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or bulk import costs are integrated so you can receive detailed insights that help you understand your entire fleet’s costs and bottom line.
   
   
3. Cartrack Delivery: Our Cartrack Delivery technology helps you efficiently dispatch drivers and assign driver schedules in advance. With this you can combat the load-shedding delays caused in the production process and thus the delays in delivery. With Cartrack delivery, you can quickly catch up with delivery delays using route optimisation software. You can dispatch the nearest optimal drivers on demand based on their availability to meet delivery demands. This way, you can keep drivers and customers updated on any ad-hoc changes (caused by load-shedding), building an efficient communication culture.
   
   
4. Fleet reports and logbook: Prevent vehicle misuse, ensure every vehicle is roadworthy and keep regulatory contracts up-to-date with headache-free compliance. With Cartrack solutions, you can choose from a range of over 40 standard reports. These reports include mileage, driver behaviour, and productivity. All the data is obtained by our fleet management system and can be accessed by you via the internet at any time. Use our logbook to automatically log all car trips and categorise them as personal or corporate trips. This ensures that you have a tax-compliant logbook for SARS submissions.
   
   
5. AI camera solutions: Ensure driver security and prevent accidents with up to eight AI-powered and live-streaming internal and external cameras. Our AI cameras can detect distracted driving; such as smoking, cell phone use and yawning. Additionally, our event-based surveillance instantly gives you the footage you need to defend your drivers from false claims. These solutions save you potential accident costs, increase driver awareness and reduce unnecessary legal costs. Moreover, they improve overall driver safety and risk management.

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Ready to elevate your vehicle management with Cartrack tracking devices?

Increase your fleet's productivity with Cartrack's fleet management software that will empower you to control your fleet no matter the fleet climate. Get in touch today to gain total command over your operations, regardless of the challenges.