Aftermarket car telematics arena drives past 90 million subscriptions

Research from internet of things (IoT) analyst firm Berg Insight has calculated that the total number of aftermarket car telematics shipments worldwide reached 26.5 million in 2024 and projects that it will reach 39.3 million units in 2029, with the installed base of active aftermarket car telematics units growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% to reach 136.8 million worldwide at the end of 2029, up from 90.3 million at the end of 2024.

Berg Insight’s definition of an aftermarket car telematics solution in the report comprises cellular/global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and RF-based solutions. It said there are currently many different form factors applicable for aftermarket car telematics, ranging from professionally installed hardwired black boxes to self-installed onboard diagnostics dongles and battery-powered devices.

The Aftermarket car telematics report pointed to such systems being useful in a number of application areas, including stolen vehicle tracking and recovery (SVT/SVR), vehicle diagnostics, Wi-Fi hotspots, convenience applications and usage-based insurance. It added that systems leveraging cellular technologies are most common across the industry, but RF-based solutions can be found in many geographical markets and are particularly used for SVT/SVR services.

Remote vehicle diagnostics allow service providers such as dealers and workshops to improve service offerings to car owners. “Dealers and finance companies can moreover leverage telematics for internal fleet management and manage the customer lifetime value,” noted Berg Insight senior analyst Martin Cederqvist. “The number of active aftermarket SVT units in use is forecasted to reach 103.4 million in 2029, up from 67.0 million at year end 2024.”

Regional market conditions, such as a high level of vehicle crime, influencing the demand for stolen vehicle tracking were found to have made SVT systems popular in countries such as Brazil, Israel, Russia and South Africa.

Even though an increasing number of new cars are sold with embedded connectivity, Berg believes that a varying degree of market success for current OEM telematics services enables aftermarket services to have a promising future, even in mature telematics markets. Aftermarket services targeting a specific customer group are seen as being able to offer an advantage in specialisation compared with telematics services that are mainly developed for a wide range of use cases.

The study noted that the market is characterised by a great diversity of players interacting in a complex value chain that spans multiple industries. The car telematics companies targeting the aftermarket car sector include specialists focusing on this application area only, as well as general telematics players that serve a broad range of applications including fleet management for commercial vehicles, stressed how aftermarket car telematics services are offered by a wide range of players.

That said, the research highlighted how distributing services and products through third parties is the most common go-to-market strategy for aftermarket car telematics solution suppliers. Important sales channels include insurance companies, dealers and importers, as well as direct-to-consumer channels such as mobile operators and online retailers.

Examples of leading telematics companies selling services via third parties or directly to consumers include OCTO Telematics, Procon Analytics, StarLine, Spireon, Targa Telematics, Vodafone Automotive, Ituran, PassTime GPS, Tracker Connect Maxtrack, Carsystem, SVR Tracking, Cognosos, Verizon Hum, Varroc Connect, Mojio, Tail Light (Bouncie) and Agnik (Vyncs).