The key telematics trends in South Africa are heavily influenced by AI learning, 5G, and more recently, electric vehicles. According to Global Market Insights, SA is one of the top three countries in the world for telematics, which makes it an important industry to keep an eye on. This is because many people use usage-based insurance (UBI), and the market is very well developed.
Telematics is an area of interest for investors looking for growth opportunities. CEOs that run fleet companies or delivery departments also explore ways to stay competitive using telematics. However, it's insurance providers who are expanding UBI programs that are really driving the evolution of telematics in South Africa.
The telematics experts at Cartrack have compiled an up-to-date list of 5 trends in South Africa that are having a real-world influence on the global telematics industry. We’ll also cover 5 bonus telematics trends that are still having a lasting effect on the industry years after their appearance.
In SA, the term telematics speaks to using technology to track and share information about vehicles in real time. This can include things like GPS tracking, monitoring how a car or truck is driven, checking fuel use, and sending alerts if there’s a problem. Telematics protects drivers and fleet managers, making it easier to plan routes and avoid accidents.
For companies that run lots of vehicles, telematics is a MUST! It improves business processes, lowers insurance premiums, and protects the vehicles of your organisation. In South Africa, high rates of vehicle theft and hijacking make telematics especially important. With reliable tracking systems, stolen cars and trucks can be recovered fast. This reduces losses for owners and companies by deterring and thwarting criminals.
The top most recent telematics trends in SA include:
These all contribute to the telematics industry in positive ways, and lend to the growth of South Africa’s leading global role.
Before we look more in-depth at these, here’s a quick overview of each one:
Over the years, telematics has transformed the way fleet companies function. Managers used to have to guess where their vehicles were, how drivers were behaving, and how much fuel was being used. This made it hard to plan routes, keep costs low, and stop small problems before they became big ones.
All that's changed now. Today's telematics fills in those gaps by giving real time information on vehicle location, driver habits, fuel use, and even future maintenance needs. This helps fleet companies save money, improve safety, and keep customers happy.
5G technology has brought a huge boost to the telematics industry by making data transfers faster and more reliable, not to mention giving you the ability to handle much larger amounts of information. For vehicle tracking, this means location updates happen almost instantly. This means you get accurate, real time views of your trucks and cargo!
In diagnostics, 5G allows vehicles to send detailed health reports to maintenance teams without delays. This helps you to prevent breakdowns before they even occur. Navigation systems can also access live traffic updates and reroute drivers in seconds, giving them the fastest way to reach their destination. In addition to all this, autonomous driving features benefit from ultra-low latency, allowing your vehicles to react to changes on the road super fast.
5G has had a massive influence on the following fleet management services. Which of these would make managing your own fleet easier?
Safety on the roads of South Africa is a win for your drivers as well as your profits. When accidents are fewer, your company ends up spending less on repairs. You'll also avoid costly downtime, and keep your insurance premiums lower. A strong safety record also builds trust with your customers, who are more likely to work with you because of your reliability.
The data from telematics helps to improve road safety in a bunch of ways. By tracking driver behaviour, feedback reporting on spot speeding, harsh braking, or sudden cornering, allows you to correct your drivers before they cause accidents. Some other road safety benefits from telematics are:
Insurance companies are also rewarding fleet companies for using telematics in their fleet management. Why? Because telematics is a powerful tool that provides accurate, time-stamped information about incidents. This data can show the exact speed, location, and actions taken before an accident, helping to resolve claims quickly and fairly. It also reduces the risk of fraudulent claims, saving money for your insurers and your business.
In early 2020, Tesla announced that its vehicles had collectively driven 3 billion miles on Autopilot! They had also driven 1 billion miles using the “Navigate on Autopilot” feature, completing 200 000 automated lane changes and 1.2 million Smart Summon sessions.
As you can see, telematics has transformed electric vehicles (EVs) around the world by enabling real-time safety features. It's also contributed to monitoring battery health, smarter charging processes, and much more. Today, EVs are more efficient, reliable, and accessible thanks to huge leaps in telematics.
Here are some of the great results of telematics in EV technology:
Artificial intelligence is transforming telematics by allowing systems to learn from the vast amounts of data they collect. Instead of just reporting important information, AI can identify patterns, predict future events, and recommend actions to improve safety, efficiency, and ways to save costs.
After years (and even decades), these systems learn to become more accurate and valuable! In fact, they adapt to your company’s specific operations and needs.
It's safe to assume that your vehicles have become more dependent on computer systems. Did you know that keeping their data safe is a top priority because of cyber hacking? Strong cybersecurity measures in telematics help prevent this type of large-scale hacking, protecting your most sensitive information.
If your company coperates across different borders, telematics enables you to monitor and control your vehicles from anywhere in the world. With improved coordination and reduced downtime, you can ensure that international operations run smoothly.
Should you add more trucks to your fleet? Telematics provides valuable information about vehicle performance, driver behaviour, and route efficiency. Your business can use these insights to make smarter decisions, from fine-tuning delivery schedules to making decisions about how to grow the company.
By tracking the behaviours of your drivers and determining vehicle health, you can easily enforce safety standards through training and coaching of your drivers. Safer driving not only protects people and your cargo, but can also lead to lower insurance premiums, saving your business a large percentage of your profits.
What if you could quickly locate a truck that's been stolen? Faster recovery reduces your losses, protects your company assets, and keeps operations running with fewer delays. This is necessary if you want long-term success for your business.
In 2024, Globe News Wire predicted a relatively strong growth period for fleet management services in South Africa. They also rated Cartrack as one of the top 3 leaders in the SA telematics arena.
Only Cartrack boasts well over half a million active fleet management units in use across the whole of South Africa. This is a major achievement, and the future promises more growth as telematics trends develop further.
The commercial vehicle telematics industry is evolving fast — and so are the tools to keep you competitive. Cartrack’s advanced telematics solutions give you real-time fleet insights, smarter route planning, and actionable data to boost efficiency and cut costs. Don’t just follow the trends — lead them with Cartrack.
Yes, many insurance companies will charge lower premiums if you have fleet telematics. That’s because telematics can prove your drivers are safe, reduce accidents, and help recover stolen vehicles. Insurers see you as a lower risk, which means you could save money on your insurance over time.
Data protection (POPIA) means you must get consent from your drivers before using dashcams. You need to explain how the video will be used, stored, and protected. If drivers know it’s for safety and not spying, they’re more likely to agree and feel comfortable with the system in place.
Yes, smaller fleets are starting to use telematics too. It helps them save money on fuel, keep vehicles in good shape, and improve deliveries. Even a few vehicles can benefit from tracking, driver feedback, and route planning, making the business run smoother and more efficiently.
Many fleet managers use telematics to look after driver wellbeing. The system can spot when drivers need breaks, avoid dangerous routes, and give feedback that improves safety. Some truck drivers like this because it helps them stay safe and can make their job less stressful overall.
The main barriers to faster telematics growth in South Africa are high setup costs, limited awareness of the benefits, and unreliable network coverage in some areas. Some companies also worry about data privacy and training staff, which slows down how quickly they start using these systems.
Discover the top telematics trends shaping South Africa in 2025, from AI-driven fleet management to real-time data analytics, safety innovations, and sustainability.
