When you’re a commercial vehicle finance company, your money is literally riding out on the road. With vehicle financing deals that can reach up into the millions, you need smart ways to protect your investments while also helping to improve your bottom line. GPS tracking does more than just protect valuable assets, it also provides data to help boost profitability and can be tailored to fit your specific needs. Here are three reasons GPS tracking is a must-have for commercial vehicle finance companies and commercial car fleets.

1. Protect your assets with GPS tracking

A GPS tracking system is an essential part of fleet real-time risk management. Having GPS trackers on your vehicles mitigates your risk when it comes to theft. Over one million vehicles were stolen in the U.S. in 2023, a 25% increase over the last few years. With GPS trackers, when a car is missing or stolen, you can instantly pinpoint its location to find it and get it back. GPS tracking gives you peace of mind, knowing that your vehicles are protected 24/7.

With features like geofencing, your GPS can alert you if vehicles leave a specific area, so you know immediately when your asset has been taken outside the designated location. Being able to immediately react to theft is important. If reported stolen in the first 24 hours, vehicles have a 34% same-day recovery rate.

GPS theft protection devices can also save you money. According to Forbes, you could get a 5–25% discount on auto insurance premiums when you use a GPS theft protection system. This reduces operational costs but also enhances the overall security of your financed assets.

2. Use GPS data to improve your business decisions

You understand how important data is when it comes to making business decisions. GPS trackers allow you to make data-driven decisions and increase business efficiency to boost profitability. Here’s how:

• Ensure more on-time payments: Improve on-time payments with automated payment reminders. With automated payment reminders, customers remember to pay on time or are reminded to reach out if they need to make new arrangements for payments. It decreases the work of having to track down customers and reduces collection costs.

• Target your reach: Automated reminders allow you to target consistently delinquent customers, instead of focusing on your entire customer base.

• Decrease repossessions: With payment reminders, you can increase on-time payments and decrease overdue payments. Ultimately, this can lead to fewer repossessions and less money out of your pocket. If you do have to repossess, you can easily locate the vehicle and use starter interrupt to keep it from driving off.

• Improve vehicle financing: More on-time payments, fewer repossessions and lower insurance costs mean more money saved and lower liability. This frees up cash flow and increases the number of assets you can finance.

For fleet owners

• Operational efficiency: With GPS data, you can get an overview of where your vehicles are and their routes. GPS data can be used to monitor and optimize routes, reducing fuel consumption and maintenance costs. This leads to more efficient operations and improved profitability.
• Fleet use: By analyzing usage patterns, you can use fleet GPS tracking to make better decisions about fleet size and composition. This ensures that your assets are being used efficiently, helping you avoid any extra costs. Vehicle financing becomes easier because the data helps you determine future needs.
• User insights: Data from GPS devices can provide insights into user behavior and preferences, allowing you to tailor the vehicles to user needs. With employees, GPS can provide real data on usage, including if the vehicles are taken out of range or used during off hours. Plus, when people understand GPS is tracking their actions, they usually drive better, lowering insurance risks. Fleet GPS tracking is a major benefit when it comes to fleet real-time risk management.

3. Tailor GPS devices to meet your needs

The great thing about GPS trackers is the many GPS options that can be customized to fit your business needs.

Do you need speed, scale and stealth?

Choose a battery-powered GPS device that you can install in seconds and reuse between multiple assets. These devices are typically small, so you can hide them easily to prevent theft. Look for a device with dual-location technology so you can be sure you can find your asset, even in areas where GPS fails.

Do you need automatic payment reminders and a starter interrupt option?

Choose a hard-wired device with automatic customer-communications technology. You'll be able to proactively communicate with customers about payment reminders and overdue payments. If you need to disable a vehicle due to a delinquent payment, you'll be able to do that remotely. Look for a device with tamper and tow detection for added security.

Do you need fleet GPS tracking to track and optimize your fleet?

Opt for a solution with built-in software that coaches your drivers, optimizes routes and helps you save fuel. With the right device, you can also electronically log usage and automatically file taxes. Look for a solution with crash reconstruction software, to help improve your insurance rates.

PassTime can meet your vehicle financing and fleet financing needs

PassTime has a variety of solutions that can be customized to meet your needs.

• Scale up or down. With the small and easy-to-install GPS Encore device you can install or move a GPS device in seconds, allowing you to remain agile to meet the needs of your fleet. With quick installations and its small size, Encore allows for scalability, speed and stealth.

• Set up automatic payment reminders and starter interrupt. Select GPS or the Elite option allow you to prevent the car from starting, ensuring it can’t drive off if the owner is behind in their payments. You can also use Elite to help customers stay on top of their payments with payment reminders. If they don’t pay the remote vehicle disable option shuts down the car, which means they won’t drive off with your asset.

•    Track your assets anywhere with dual-location technology. PassTime’s 4^th-generation battery-powered GPS device, Encore, offers dual-location technology, which combines GPS and cellular technology to help you find your vehicles anywhere, even where GPS might fail, like parking garages or major building obstructions. Now Encore offers 150% greater signal capacity, accuracy and performance than the previous generation.  

•    Manage your fleet efficiently with GO. As an authorized Geotab reseller, PassTime offers the Geotab GO device, which allows you to plug into the vehicle's diagnostics system and discover real-time, actionable data like insights on driver behavior like sharp acceleration/deceleration, aggressive driving, speed, time spent idling and more. It also includes crash reconstruction software as well as route optimization software and an electronic logging device to prevent driver exhaustion and automatically file taxes.

Don’t miss out on the benefits of GPS tracking to reduce risk and optimize your business. Contact us today to get customized solutions to fit your needs.