Merchants Fleet is developing a connected vehicle program designed to help businesses identify vehicles in need of maintenance, monitor driver behavior to improve safety, detect and mitigate fraud, and track vehicle location for scheduling and route optimization.

The program is currently undergoing proof of concept with select Merchants clients and the program is expected to be fully released in 2020, according to Merchants Fleet. The program involves a partnership with Motorq, a connected car data and analytics platform, and the connected vehicle option was announced to Merchants Fleet clients during the company’s first annual Fleet Summit at its new headquarters this fall.

Merchants anticipates that connected vehicle data will seamlessly allow businesses to unlock opportunities in productivity for another appointment or call for the day, according to the fleet management company. It will also present opportunities to leverage driver gamification, which has the potential to reduce unwanted driver behaviors by over 70% and lower violations and loss rates.

The model for the program is to take data transmitted from participating automotive original equipment manufacturers and aggregate and normalize it into a single stream. Currently, four OEMs are participating, and the number is expected to grow. This stream can then be delivered to businesses in an easily-accessible format via Merchants Fleet’s technology platform TotalView, which businesses can log into to view their detailed fleet data.