According to a new research report from the leading IoT analyst firm, Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in South Africa reached an estimated 2.3 million in Q4, 2023.
Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3 percent, this number is expected to reach 3.8 million by 2028. South Africa is a relatively mature telematics market, and the penetration rate is comparably high when observed from an international perspective.
However, not all deployments are comprehensive advanced fleet management solutions. A significant portion of the installed fleet telematics systems in the South African market consists of relatively basic tracking systems, such as light FM solutions, which include SVR systems augmented with basic FM features.
The South African Fleet Management Market
“The South African fleet management market is clearly dominated by five domestic players with broad telematics portfolios that, together, represent 70 percent of the total number of fleet management systems in use in the country,” said Rickard Andersson, Principal Analyst, Berg Insight.
He added that Berg Insight has ranked Cartrack, Tracker and MiX by Powerfleet (formerly known as MiX Telematics prior to its business convergence with Powerfleet) as the largest providers of fleet management solutions in South Africa.
“Cartrack alone has well over half a million active fleet management units in the country,” continued Andersson. The remaining top-5 players are Ctrack and Netstar. Other top-10 players operating within the South African fleet management market include local providers such as BIDTRACK (Bidvest Group), Digicell and GPS Tracking Solutions (Eqstra Fleet Management), as well as international players including Lytx and Webfleet (Bridgestone).
Moreover, Gurtam, Autotrak, Digital Matter, Scania and Powerfleet (excluding MiX by Powerfleet) are additional top-15 providers. Players just outside of the top-15 list, with approximately at least 10,000 units include Key Telematics (Radius), FleetCam, iCAM Video Telematics, Geotab, Mtrack (Electronic Tracking Systems) and Globaltrack.
“In addition to Scania, comparably large installed bases of OEM fleet telematics systems in South Africa have also been achieved by manufacturers such as Volvo Trucks, Daimler Truck and UD Trucks,” concluded Andersson.
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Broader African Market Insights
The new study also offered insights into the broader African market. Africa is exceptionally diverse in terms of fleet management, with three main subregions: South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa), and Northern Africa.
The South African fleet telematics market leads the continent in terms of adoption, while Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) lags behind as the least developed region. Northern Africa, on the other hand, shows comparatively higher levels of advancement and penetration in fleet telematics, although the region is still trailing significantly behind South Africa.
Many industry representatives describe the African fleet management market outside of South Africa as challenging. The combination of weak economic conditions, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and an unstable political climate makes the market across the rest of Africa a difficult business environment overall.
However, there are promising prospects for players who adapt to the local market dynamics, as the rest of the African market presents considerable untapped opportunities, arguably more than what South Africa can offer at this stage.
Also Read: South Africa's Fleet Management Systems to Reach 3.8 Million Units
