All Hino trucks will now be fitted with a full fleet management system inclusive of a three-year subscription and this includes the Dyna, 300, 500 and 700 models and is a joint venture with Cartrack.

“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.

“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.”

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 buyback and preowned truck programme,” added Trautmann.

“Hino-Connect means we can monitor a truck’s operating life before preparing it for resale, and in view of the high resale value of a Hino truck we will be able to offer favourable buyback rates.

“Hino’s ultimate objective is to offer a total logistics partnership for our customers, where the truck is the tool in an integrated solution to meet an operator’s specific requirements.”

Harry Louw, Cartrack’s CEO, says: “Our sophisticated in-vehicle technology has proven its robustness and reliability in more than 1,3-million vehicles across 23 countries.  Our Software-as-a-Service platform is developed inhouse 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.”

“Software development is also ongoing 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.”