Fleets Benefit from Third-Party and AI Data Services

NOVI, MI -- Fleet data may be dominated by automaker’s platforms but there is still a need for third-party involvement and the use of artificial intelligence to make sense of the huge amount of data available.

That’s the broad consensus reached at the panel discussion, Connected Vehicle & Fleet Data: Turning Insights Into Actionable Strategies, at AutoTech Detroit 2024 here.

Volvo North America’s digital services manager, Alex Leonov, got the ball rolling saying: “The rule of thumb for an OEM is to focus on core competence. Third-party involvement could provide services to monetize the data. Say we have 300,000 connected trucks and can use that data for vehicle health. Trucking is heavily regulated and so we have compliance issues. That means some areas are prime for third-party services.”

Larry Rosinski, senior manager of connected car services for Nissan North America, agreed that third-party involvement can augment the truck maker’s offering to the consumer. He says: “We are the designing, engineering and architecture part of the vehicle and we are the original source of the data. We have access to other data that doesn’t come off the vehicle that can influence the relationship. In particular, we have developed a world-class B2B platform and do anything with data products. However, there is space for third-party activities such as using dongles for specific uses.”

Battery-electric vehicles present their own unique data-related issues, says Brandon Blumber, who leads digital business development at Rivian. He says: “It’s easy for an OEM to provide a turnkey solution but we bring a little different set of challenges with an all-electric vehicle, so we have tried to bridge the gap with third-party providers.

“In the future the OEMs can provide personalized experience with the user and that is the core competences of the OEM. While there are very large customers who want that integration, smaller companies rely on a third-party service provider and the OEM should send them in that direction.”

He also says AI will be playing an increasingly import role in the analysis of data coming from fleets, adding: “AI has a big role to play here because we can easily get lost in the data. We need to understand what metrics are being used and here AI will be able to predict what’s going to happen.”

Leonov agrees, saying: “Say you bought a heavy-duty truck from us and yet every client uses it differently in different environment, so one size does not fit all. So, we have developed predictive service schedules based on individual truck use and AI is a great tool for this.”

Rosinski concludes that AI will permeate the whole fleet experience for future products. He explains: “AI takes us to the level of allowing both advanced safety and productivity. Better predictability, such as when to clean and service a vehicle, providing the best uptime and this will all improve things across the board.”