In Brazil, according to the recently released numbers by the São Paulo Government Security Department, car theft is still on the rise. Every hour, eleven cars are stolen in São Paulo alone, according to the Department. A global vendor of high-quality machine-to-machine (M2M) modules and value-added services, Telit Wireless Solutions is therefore citing South Africa as an example that Brazil should follow.
According to Telit's senior sales director, Global Telematics Segment, Cyril Zeller, even though the African country belongs to the BRICS, economic block, as well as being economically on the rise, it has made significant advances reducing car theft.
For Zeller, the most notable difference is that in South Africa, there’s a wider adoption of vehicle tracking technology.
According to data provided by Telit Wireless Solution, in Brazil only 0.5 percent of the total fleet has some kind of tracking device, but in South Africa, 27 percent of vehicles in use are monitored. Zeller explains this difference by stating that in the African country, private initiatives already know the benefits of implementing such a system, while the Brazil industry awaits government regulatory action.
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In South Africa, before writing a contract, insurance companies require customers to install tracking devices in their vehicles. Zeller explained that the benefits go beyond increasing vehicle recovery rates and decreasing car theft, but tracking devices also help insurance companies establish user profiles, and start charging costumers according to car usage.
"If the customer drives at night, or even parks the vehicle inappropriately, this makes the price of the insurance premium higher and more appropriate with that use of the vehicle, which also means fairer prices for less risky customers,” concluded Zeller.
Moreover, according to Telit's Latin America director, Ricardo Buranello, Brazil already has the technology necessary to implement sophisticated tracking systems. Quickly bringing ideas to market in all application areas including the new "smart" space, Telit creates value by partnering with customers to provide expert guidance and support from concept development through to manufacturing.
Edited by
Braden Becker
