As a manufacturer of telematics products for carsharing and pool vehicles, Convadis enables its customers to offer flexible mobility while remaining cost-efficient and technically innovative. In this interview, Reiner Langendorf, partner at Convadis AG, talks about the benefits and challenges of modern on-board units for carsharing companies.
Generally speaking: Which requirements must modern telematics systems for carsharing fulfill?
This starts with the installation of the device. This must be simple, quick and possible without damage in all vehicle brands and types, ideally even without the involvement of specialists.
The application should work conveniently for vehicle users, always the same and everywhere. Whether in a city runabout or a panel van for moving houses. Whether with a smartphone or a classic RFID card (the latter is still particularly popular with business users).
And, of course, all data must be available to the operator so that they can optimally manage their fleet and have all the information they need for billing, maintenance and controlling. Our products are therefore constantly evolving as data availability becomes more challenging due to new BUS systems and security issues, among other things.
How Convadis supports carsharing providers
What distinguishes the Convadis system from other telematics products?
Among other things, our C-Port, an optional product component, enables the vehicle key to be operated mechanically. This prevents damage to the keys and the need for expensive replacement keys.
Other keywords are: integrated acceleration sensor, semi-autonomous operation thanks to data storage, low-data redundant communication, access option even without mobile phone reception, analysis of new vehicles included in the maintenance costs, low power consumption, simple installation and installation instructions for all common vehicles.
And with our new development C-Access, we offer a way to prepare vehicles for secure sharing operations within 5 minutes, without time-consuming installation and without the need for installation personnel. Customers simply lock and unlock the vehicle via Bluetooth using a smartphone app.
Good customer support is also extremely important to us. We are available to our customers by telephone as well as by email. This means that you will receive an immediate response from us and not "just" a ticket. Our customers always mention this service very positively.
By the way: Convadis guarantees long-term maintenance of the devices. We currently have devices in use that are already over 12 years old.
Many carsharing providers regularly have to deal with attempted fraud. How does your on-board system provide support in such cases?
For example, our systems can locate vehicles at any time and, if necessary, block them and prevent the "fraudster" from driving on.
Extraordinary events are recorded via the integrated acceleration sensor. Unreported damage can thus be allocated and offset.
The removal/return of fuel, charging and parking cards is also recorded. Missing cards are therefore immediately known and can be blocked immediately.
If necessary, patterns can also be found from the available data that indicate possible cases of fraud so that operators can react at an early stage.
Looking into the future
What is your view of the carsharing market today and in the future?
The electrification of vehicles continues to progress rapidly - with the associated challenges for carsharing organizations, for example in terms of charging options.
In general, vehicles are becoming smarter and more digital. On the one hand, thanks to assistance systems of all kinds and, on the other, through vehicle data management. Some data is available and can be accessed on the vehicle manufacturer's servers, and in the medium term, access to vehicles could be possible via "digital keys" from the manufacturers.
These developments can be helpful for our customers. As telematics manufacturers, however, we will have to deal more intensively with data protection issues.
How will the Convadis system develop in this respect in the coming years?
We will continue to improve data availability, including damage detection. Our powerful communication servers also enable mixed variants with data from the manufacturer portals, including digital keys. In combination with our devices and COM, this creates interesting synergies and standardization options for our customers.
We are also working, for example, on simplifying installation, vehicle-independent data provision by our device, further developing safety and ensuring operational readiness in all vehicle types.
About Convadis
Convadis AG has been developing cost-efficient and innovative access systems for carsharing organizations and pool vehicles for over 30 years. Convadis telematics products are used in over 20 countries. The fleet sizes of Convadis customers vary greatly, from just a few to over 3000 vehicles. By connecting to the MOQO platform, sharing providers receive a flexible, powerful and efficient complete solution.
