Home FleetWatch 2021 Hino links with Cartrack to provide FM system on all models

Hino links with Cartrack to provide FM system on all models

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Ernie Trautmann, Vice President of Hino South Africa: “We’ve taken our time to launch the Hino-Connect standard telematics system as we wanted to ensure we would have the right product and the right partner when the system was implemented. That time is now.”
Ernie Trautmann, Vice President of Hino South Africa: “We’ve taken our time to launch the Hino-Connect standard telematics system as we wanted to ensure we would have the right product and the right partner when the system was implemented. That time is now.”

It’s been a long time coming but it’s now a reality. Hino South Africa has linked up with international mobility solutions provider, Cartrack, in a joint venture to provide a full fleet management system to be installed as standard fitment on the full range of trucks offered by Hino South Africa. This includes the Dyna, 300, 500 and 700 models.

“This comprehensive telematics solution includes a three-year subscription from date of fitment and will be an important, additional tool to ensure we continue to provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction,” says Ernie Trautmann, Vice President of Hino South Africa. Cartrack has a 17 year history with its roots in South Africa before expanding to 23 other countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

“Hino’s Total Support strategy, which builds strong relationships and trust with all stakeholders and has been the backbone of our success here in South Africa for many years, will benefit hugely from the data this system will now be able to provide to our customers, Hino South Africa and Hino Japan.”

As FleetWatch has stated on so many occasions, the incorporation of a telematics systems into a fleet is no longer a nice to have. It is a ‘must have’ and as such, this news is warmly welcomed. In the early days of telematics, such systems were an aftermarket fitment by operators. Now, however, the move is for OEMs to have them fitted either as their own proprietary telematics systems or from an independent system provider such as this joint venture between Hino and Cartrack. The beauty of this is that the operator has a telematics system in place from day one of the purchase of a truck.

Harry Louw, CEO of Cartrack, says the company has everything it offers in-house to access and deliver the data required by Hino.
Harry Louw, CEO of Cartrack, says the company has everything it offers in-house to access and deliver the data required by Hino.

Hino-Connect will provide three sets of data:

  • Positional data for tracking and recovery as well as distances travelled.
  • Vehicle performance data including fuel consumption, oil and water temperatures and speed.
  • Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) fault reporting direct to Hino SA and the dealer concerned, who will know what is wrong before getting to the vehicle, thereby enabling quicker reaction time to get the vehicle back on the road.

All data is stored for five years, with the last six months’ data available immediately.

“Over the years Hino has increased the number of value-added products offered to its customers, ranging from extended service intervals to competitive service and maintenance plans, warranties on replacement parts fitted by franchise dealers and now Hino-Connect will open the way to us considering a buy-back and pre-owned truck programme,” says Trautmann.

Enlarging on this latter point, Trautmann says having Hino-Connect in place means a truck’s operating life can be monitored before preparing it for resale “and in view of the high resale value of a Hino truck we will be able to offer favourable buy-back rate.” He adds that Hino’s ultimate objective is to offer a total logistics partnership for its customers where the truck is the tool in an integrated solution to meet an operator’s specific requirements.

Commenting on this joint venture, a delighted Harry Louw, CEO of Cartrack, says this is an ideal match as the company has everything it offers in-house, from installation and aftersales service through over 600 mobile workshops, field training, specialist on-boarding teams, its own exclusive stolen vehicle recovery infrastructure and the engineering skills to access and deliver the data required by Hino. 

A system report summary of what operators can expect from the new Hino Connect system.
A system report summary of what operators can expect from the new Hino Connect system.

“Our sophisticated in-vehicle technology has proven its robustness and reliability in over 1.3 million vehicles across 23 countries. Our Software-as-a-Service platform is developed in-house and meets the requirements of tens of thousands of commercial customers around the world. It is highly scalable, and we are able to quickly respond to customer requirements for additional features,” says Louw. 

“Software development is also on-going as part of our continuous drive to deliver cutting edge mobility solutions which is now extending to the use of artificial intelligence to deliver richer information to our customers. Service delivery is a core value and customer service is a lifestyle for all the Cartrack team members.”

As mentioned, it’s been a long time coming from the Hino stable but as Trautmann says: “We’ve taken our time to launch the Hino-Connect standard telematics system as we wanted to ensure we would have the right product and the right partner when the system was implemented. That time is now.”