Global Off-Highway Vehicle Telematics Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The global off-highway vehicle telematics market had a total installed base of 4,561.7 million units in 2020, and it is expected to reach a volume of 10,524.3 million units by 2026, registering a CAGR of 15.78% over the forecast period (2021-2026).

Key Highlights

• The off-highway vehicle market includes various equipment, such as specialized heavy machinery, lighter equipment, and other vehicles used in the construction, mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors. Off-highway vehicle telematics refers to telematics hardware and associated software solutions deployed for remote monitoring and management of fleets of machinery and equipment used in these sectors.
• The primary drivers of this market include the rising demand for OHV data analysis, improved productivity and utilization, and reduced operational costs associated with maintenance and repairs. Successful players in this space offer robust location-based services (LBS) and telematics capabilities as part of an easy-to-use, comprehensive OHV telematics solution.
• One of the biggest challenges for fleet owners is gaining real-time visibility of productivity KPIs of the equipment. They depend on on-site engineers to provide essential productivity KPIs, which are manual and prone to inaccuracy. With smart off-highway vehicles, it is possible to track various production KPIs for different off-highway equipment, making them available to fleet owners in real-time.
• The uncertainty of COVID-19 impacted all vehicle segments, the effects of which are estimated to persist in 2021 and 2022 for select markets. COVID-19 significantly impacted many organizations operating vehicle fleets in 2020, resulting from lockdowns, workforce restructuring, work-from-home practices, etc.
• With the increasing number of vehicles owned by corporate fleets, the challenges and pressures to effectively manage the fleet in a challenging business environment are increasing. Three top priorities for fleet managers in 2021 include efficient asset utilization, improved customer service, and compliance with COVID-19 safety requirements. These factors are driving the market growth.

Key Market Trends

Construction Segment remains the biggest sector

• The ongoing digital transformation in the construction industry is driving the adoption of technologies in the industry and creating new opportunities for the telematics market.​ According to the Digital Construction Report 2021 by NBS Enterprises Ltd, 46% of the respondents have been on a digital transformation journey for some time, with 17% well on the way to completion.
• Construction equipment telematics allows construction firms to track the location and performance of equipment and enables them to monitor construction equipment utilization and ensure that assets are being used efficiently. In developing countries, such as India, despite the outbreak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction industry in India registered a year-on-year growth of 68.3% in Q2 2021, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). This significantly added to the market growth.
• The fleet management solutions have become essential in construction due to the issues of asset management and driver management. According to a survey conducted by Vimcar (July 2021), a fleet management software company for SMEs, one in three construction managers stole fleet vehicles, while 87% restrict employee vehicle usage without a full picture of how the fleet is operating.
• According to Verizon Connect Fleet Technology Trends Report 2021, 51% of the construction end-users utilize GPS fleet tracking, 57% credit in-cab video for reduced accident costs and improved driver safety, and 43% saw reduced insurance costs. ​
• The increasing accidents in the construction industry are driving the demand for the fleet management industry. According to a 2020/21 survey by Health and Safety Executive, in Great Britain, there were 39 fatalities in the construction industry (the most of any sector in the United Kingdom). ​

Asia Pacific To Exhibit The Highest Growth Rate

• The growing population in Asian countries, such as China and India, is driving the need for better public infrastructure. Governments of these economies are aggressively investing in infrastructure development projects. For example, the "Bharatmala Yojana" includes provisions for improving the road networks throughout the country.
• The Indonesian government has more than 20 projects lined up for the development of more than 52,000 of its rural villages by building better roads, houses, hospitals, and other necessary infrastructure. These ongoing and proposed investments in infrastructure development projects are expected to drive the demand for off-highway vehicles, which is expected to boost the growth of the market for off-highway vehicle telematics solutions.
• The market for excavators and other types of construction machinery is expected to grow in China during the forecast period. Government expenditure on municipal infrastructure projects is the key reason for healthy sales of construction machinery in 2020. For instance, the cities around the country are expanding subways and other urban transportation systems.
• Further, as per the National Development and Reform Commission, heavy-duty truck sales grew by 40% to account for 1.37 million in the first ten months of 2020. Allied sales are further expected to grow to 1.6 million for the whole year. On the vendor front, WABCO Holdings Inc. and G7 announced an agreement to form a joint venture in China to develop and sell advanced fleet management systems for trucks and trailers.
• MFTBC has, since long, been offering its trucks Truckonnect. The allied platform allows the operators to check real-time information, such as vehicle location, safety scores, vehicle utilization, and fuel consumption.​ Additionally, it was developed to detect technical failures through real-time remote diagnosis. After an agreement with Wise Systems, MFTBC is planning to add routing and dispatching solutions that optimize the last mile of deliveries. It offers flexibility to be used with vehicles of all brands and types, including off-highway vehicles.

Competitive Landscape

The intensity of competitive rivalry is high, with the presence of multiple players vying for market share in a fairly contested space. The competition is expected to increase further with newer players looking to offer specialized offerings and innovative business models.​ The OEMs are venturing into the telematics space by offering in-house development of telematics hardware and software as a bundled solution to the fleet owners. This is creating a tough spot for aftermarket vendors​.

• August 2021 - Caterpillar is offering a whole-machine telematics solution that helps original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) provide machine owners and operators with the ability to view critical data output in real-time and better understand and make use of - their equipment’s operation, its experience with asset health monitoring, customers using this technology can locate, track, and manage all their connected assets independently. The engine-ready solution can help provide a clear picture of a machine’s health by collecting all the machine data and displaying the results through an easy-to-read online dashboard.
• January 2021 - JCB launched CEV stage IV wheeled construction equipment in India; JCB’s advanced telematics technology, called JCB Livelink, has been incorporated with these vehicles, thereby making them connected. The machine’s performance, its operating and health parameters, in addition to its location, geofencing, time-fencing, and GPS location, can be monitored. JCB’s Intelli-Diagnostic technology helps in accurate fault-finding through a digital interface.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support