This strategic research report from Berg Insight provides you with over 110 pages of unique business intelligence, including 5-year industry forecasts, expert commentary and real-life case studies on which to base your business decisions.

This report will allow you to:
-Understand the dynamics behind the adoption of fleet management in Europe.
-Identify key international and regional market players.
-Comprehend the telematics strategies of leading OEMs.
-Anticipate future technology trends in the telematics space.
-Recognize the business opportunities in each part of the fleet management chain.
-What are the key business opportunities in the emerging European wireless M2M market?
Berg Insight's M2M Research Series is a unique series of market reports published on a quarterly basis. Each title offers detailed analysis of a specific vertical application area such as intelligent metering, fleet management or vehicle telematics.

Once per year we also publish a summary of our research with detailed forecasts for the European wireless M2M market.

Good times ahead for European fleet management providers

Fleet management is an ambiguous term used in reference to a wide range of solutions for different vehicle-related applications.

Berg Insight's definition of a fleet management solution is vehicle based systems that incorporate data logging, satellite positioning and data communication to a backoffice application. The history of fleet management solutions goes back several decades. Onboard vehicle computers first emerged in the 1980s and were soon connected to various satellite and terrestrial wireless networks.

Today mobile networks can provide ubiquitous online connectivity at a reasonable cost and mobile computing technology delivers very high performance, as well as excellent usability. All of these components combined enable the delivery of vehicle management, transport management, driver management and mobile workforce management applications linking vehicles and enterprise IT systems. Furthermore the same technology platform can also be used for electronic toll collection.

Berg Insight is of the opinion that the European fleet management market has entered a period of solid growth that will last for several years to come. There is a general sentiment of optimism in the industry, underpinned by increasing awareness of the benefits with telematics among fleet owners. With penetration coming from a low level it will take considerable time before the market reaches a point of saturation. Currently, Berg Insight estimates that nearly 30,000 European businesses with more than 50 employees - over 12.5 percent - are now using the technology on at least parts of their vehicle fleets. This means that fleet management has now entered the early majority stage of the innovation adoption curve among large businesses. Ultimately Berg Insight expects that virtually all new commercial vehicles sold will be equipped with some form of mobile network connectivity.

Approximately 27.4 million commercial vehicles are owned by enterprises in Europe, with another 1.4 million vehicles being owned by public entities. About 20 percent of the light commercial vehicles and 5 percent of the medium and heavy trucks are in private ownership, which includes vehicles owned by private persons but used for business purposes. Altogether enterprises and public entities own approximately about 19.9 million light commercial vehicles, 6.8 million trucks and 0.7 million buses and coaches in Europe. Furthermore Berg Insight estimates that there are about 2.5 million heavy trailers or semi-trailers, 2.0 million construction equipment units and 3.0 million agriculture equipment units. Between 2007 and 2012, Berg Insight forecasts that the penetration rate for fleet management in Europe will increase from 2.8 percent to 11.3 percent at the end of the period.

A diversity of solution providers compete for the top positions on the European fleet management market. Companies range in size from GE Equipment Services - a part of one of the world's largest corporations - to GPS-Buddy, a start-up company thriving on a partnership with GPS product vendor Garmin. Leading technology companies like Qualcomm and TomTom are also active market players, as well as the infrastructure group Abertis through its French motorway operator Sanef's subsidiary Masternaut. Cybit, Minorplanet and Navman Wireless have emerged as leaders from the advanced UK market, while Transics and Punch Telematix originate from Belgium. Two South African companies - Digicore and TeliMatrix/OmniBridge (best know for the VDO Fleet Manager range) - have also risen to prominent market positions backed by a strong domestic market and international reach. Furthermore truck OEMs including Mercedes-Benz/Daimler, Volvo Trucks and Scania are significant players in the heavy truck segment.

This report answers the following questions:
-Why is the fleet management market maturing right now and what is driving adoption?
-What is the geographical and ownership structure of commercial vehicle fleets in Europe?
-Which are the main players involved in the fleet management value chain?
-Who are the leading international and regional providers of fleet management solutions in Europe?
-How will the consolidation of the industry continue to evolve?
-What OEM telematics propositions are offered by the leading manufacturers of trucks, trailers and construction equipment?
-How is the introduction of the digital tachograph affecting demand for remote communication in the heavy transport industry?