Mercedes-Benz to launch telematics in Brisbane

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has said it will launch a smart
telematics system for its Australian customers at the Brisbane Truck Show this
week.

The new Mercedes-Benz Telematics product is said to be a
premium fleet management tool including factory-fitted hardware and an
Australian-developed software suite.

In addition to the desktop portal with full functionality,
Mercedes-Benz Telematics also includes innovative apps for both the fleet
operator and driver that increase convenience and visibility.

The Telematics App allows the fleet operator to view a large
amount of real-time data on each truck, including vehicle location, driving
behaviour, alerts such as speeding, braking instances and geofence breaches,
along with other features. The Drivers’ App includes driver ID functionality
and access to their own driving data.

“We are very excited to introduce Mercedes-Benz Telematics
to our Australian customers,” said Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus Director,
Michael May.

“It is a fantastic innovative fleet management product that
we believe will deliver a whole raft of benefits for our customers.”

The Telematics hardware is installed in new generation Mercedes-Benz
trucks, but can also be retrofitted to selected earlier models to aid with
fleet integration.

A large amount of data can be exported to the fleet operator
in MS Excel, CSV and PDF formats.

The system also allows for alerts to be sent regarding extreme
vehicle incidents, as well as an alert if movement of the vehicle is detected
when the ignition is not on.     

The Mercedes-Benz Telematics system uses the Telstra 3G
network for ultimate coverage.

It features onboard memory that can retain three months of
data when not in GSM range, has a battery back-up system and a secure encrypted
cloud portal.

The clever Driver’s’ App comes as part of the Mercedes-Benz
Telematics suite and is available for both Android and iOS platforms. It offers
customers a range of options, including the ability for drivers to conduct a
real-time pre-inspection on each truck, with an option to upload comments and
even photos that are immediately sent to the fleet manager.

“We have taken our time to develop a telematics system specifically
for our Australian customers that includes all the elements they need to get
the most out of their trucks,” said Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus Senior Manager,
Andrew Assimo.

“We trialled Mercedes-Benz Telematics during the lengthy
evaluation program for the new generation truck range and we are now even more
confident that operators will really benefit from this great product,” he added.