In-car telematics helps police recover £1m worth of stolen cars

Forty company cars worth £1 million have been returned to their drivers thanks to being equipped with ALD Automotive’s unique ProFleet2 telematics system.

Around half of ALD’s 50,000-vehicle fleet are now equipped with the company’s multi award-winning ProFleet2 system.

The technology provides companies with key management data to improve operating efficiencies with related financial savings, compliance with duty of care best practice and carbon footprint reduction as a result of improved journey management.

However, one spin-off benefit, greatly appreciated by a number of fleet customers, has been that the technology has enabled police forces nationwide to recover stolen vehicles as a result the system’s ‘location service’.

The latest company to benefit from the technology is Hoylake-based Newhall Publications, which operates a 100-strong company car fleet.

A Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CDTi 130 worth more than £21,000 was stolen from outside the Suffolk home of its driver just two weeks after it had been delivered.

On being alerted of the theft, ALD Automotive’s Fleet Services team immediately activated the locater functionality delivered through the unit’s SIM card. Within four hours the vehicle was traced to a location just 15 minutes away from where it was stolen by Suffolk Police and recovered largely undamaged.

Alex Murphy, Newhall Publications’ field support manager who administers the company’s fleet, said: “This was the third company car supplied by ALD Automotive which has been stolen and in each case the vehicles have been recovered thanks to ProFleet2.

“While we use the data from ProFleet2 to help our compliance with health and safety legislation, the technology also acts as a peace of mind tool in the event of a vehicle being stolen and it has worked very effectively in recovering three of our company cars.”

He added: “Had the Vauxhall Insignia and the two other vehicles not been recovered the impact of the thefts on our insurance premiums may well have been significant. However, thanks to ProFleet2 the company cars have been recovered and our insurance costs have been kept in check.”

The most valuable company car so far recovered as a result of being equipped with ProFleet2 was a £59,300 BMW 630i Convertible 3.0 Sport auto in April last year.

Additionally, the £1m haul of vehicles stolen and subsequently recovered includes a £31,200 BMW 330d SE saloon, a £44,000 Mercedes CLS320 CDI Coupe 3.0 auto, a £38,200 Audi Cabriolet 3.0 TDi Quattro Tiptronic as well as an £11,700 Ford Transit Connect 220 SWB 1.8TDCi.

Following the reporting of each vehicle theft the ‘location monitoring’ functionality within the ProFleet2 system was activated by ALD Automotive after written permission was obtained from the client company and the vehicle’s driver.

Official Home Office figures indicate that vehicle crime has fallen dramatically in recent years. Vehicle thefts peaked at 522,000 in 1991 but according to 2008/9 crime figures the number has since dropped to 150,000.

Police say that is because an increasing number of vehicles are equipped with tracking devices and other security features, which makes vehicles more than ten times safer than a car with no security equipment.

ALD Automotive marketing director David Yates said: “ProFleet2 has established an enviable record in helping police recover stolen cars. Vehicle theft can obviously impact on fleet insurance premiums so companies that lease vehicles from ALD with the system fitted are clearly guarding against such costs raises, which is even more important in the current recession.

“The technology is therefore both helping to combat vehicle crime as well as keeping vehicle operating costs down and improving efficiency for fleets and their drivers.”

Exclusive to ALD, ProFleet2 was the first practical solution launched more than six years ago into the fleet sector to overcome both cost issues and potential employee resentment often associated with in-vehicle telematics products.

The cutting edge ProFleet2 software has been welcomed by fleet decision-makers for the wealth of management and driver information transmitted and then analysed online, thereby helping companies comply with duty of care legislation and environmental best practice.

As well as ensuring vehicles are serviced on schedule through the triggering of a two month/2,000-mile vehicle service reminder that also eliminates the risk of in-life or end of contract recharges caused by poor service history, ProFleet2 is also proving invaluable in helping drivers’ record accurate business mileage. This ensures they are not overly exposed to risks and companies can keep a thorough audit trail of vehicles and drivers by business mileage being reported separately.

ProFleet2 continues to evolve and last year saw ALD launched ‘Fleet Manager’ with its reporting suite providing fleet managers with comprehensive journey data for their fleet including exception risk reporting, as well as full journey information, time of travel and miles clocked up.

Author: Lee Sibbald, November 30, 2009
Filed under: ALD Automotive,Fleet news