Telematics trends for 2026: What is changing and how Australian fleets can respond

As Australian fleets plan for the rest of 2026, the goal is no longer just tracking; it is anticipating. Modern platforms now leverage AI and open data ecosystems to help fleet leaders stay ahead of disruptions, control costs and make smarter decisions about long-term growth. 

In this guide, we explore the key trends shaping the future of fleet management and how to prepare for what comes next.

Why telematics is evolving faster than ever

The future of telematics is being driven by a shift toward more connected and intelligent fleet operations. Fleets are managing more vehicles across broader geographies while facing rising expectations around safety, uptime and regulatory compliance. 

These pressures are accelerating the adoption of telematics solutions that deliver visibility and predictive insights, not just basic tracking. At the same time, vehicles are generating more data than ever before, and advances in connectivity and analytics are making that data easier to use. 

Modern telematics platforms bring vehicle, driver and asset data together, helping fleets better understand the value of telematics and make more informed decisions. 

Geotab supports this shift by enabling fleets to grow connected operations while maintaining flexibility and long-term visibility as their needs change.

Agentic AI: From dashboards to decision support

The most significant trend in 2026 is the move toward Agentic AI. Rather than simply surfacing data on a screen, these systems act as proactive assistants for fleets of all sizes.

These AI agents can perform actions like: 

• Automated Maintenance: AI monitors engine diagnostics across your entire fleet, flagging a battery issue in a passenger car or a fault code in a van before it leads to a roadside failure.
• Safety Coaching: Identifying risky driving patterns—like distraction or harsh braking—and providing real-time feedback to help maintain a high safety profile.
• Intelligent Dispatch: Automatically recommending the best-positioned vehicle for a job based on its current range, tools on board, and real-time traffic conditions.

This shift reflects a broader market move from descriptive and predictive analytics to AI-driven decision support that helps fleets act faster and with greater confidence. The real value of AI in fleet management lies in operationalising data, not just visualising it.

This evolution mirrors findings from Geotab’s Generative AI research, which shows that organisations gain the most value when Gen AI is treated as a strategic capability rather than a standalone tool. 

The report highlights that the most impactful use cases rely on fine-tuned models trained on high-quality, domain-specific data, supported by strong governance and privacy controls. 

Solutions like Geotab Ace are exploring how AI can transform telematics data into actionable recommendations across safety, operations and predictive maintenance, helping fleets move from experimentation to measurable business impact as AI adoption matures.

Solving the connectivity challenge

Australia’s geography is a unique challenge for any fleet. Stronger connectivity is expanding what fleets can measure and manage in real time. By supporting multiple communication paths, modern telematics devices deliver more reliable data across diverse operating environments, including remote regions, cross-border routes and time-sensitive operations. 

This reliability reduces data gaps, enabling consistent tracking and faster issue detection that supports day-to-day fleet decisions. Two connectivity advances are driving this shift:

• Satellite connectivity: When cellular coverage weakens or drops, telematics devices can switch to satellite communication to help maintain location visibility and critical data transmission in remote or hard-to-reach areas.
• Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity: Vehicles can share data with other vehicles and roadway infrastructure, improving situational awareness and unlocking new safety and efficiency use cases.

Industry research shows that advances in IoT fleet management and connectivity are significantly expanding what telematics systems can support. As connected devices and initiatives like smart traffic systems mature, these capabilities are expected to drive substantial industry growth — projections estimate that the global telematics market could reach over $564 million by 2035.

Open telematics platforms helps Australian fleets scale

As local fleets expand, the future of telematics depends less on isolated tools and more on flexible platforms that evolve with the business. Open telematics platforms are designed to integrate with existing Australian systems and new technologies as they emerge. This adaptability helps fleets avoid vendor lock-in and enhances operations without the need for costly re-platforming as operational requirements shift.

These open ecosystems also unlock partner integrations that expand functionality beyond a single provider's scope. Through APIs, Australian fleets can seamlessly connect their telematics data to:

• Maintenance and workshop management systems
• Safety and AI-driven camera tools
• Local EV charging and energy platforms
• Enterprise ERP and payroll software (including FBT and FTC tools)

Industry leaders agree that interoperability and data portability are vital for building fleet operations that can scale. For growing Australian fleets, open platforms transform data into a shared foundation for innovation rather than a closed system with fixed limits.

Telematics strengthens safety, compliance and sustainability

Telematics insights are fundamentally linked to measurable outcomes in safety, regulatory standing, and environmental performance. As national safety expectations rise and oversight becomes more stringent, local fleets are leveraging data to gain a deeper understanding of driver behaviour,  vehicle health, and broader operational risks.

Industry analysis indicates the Australian commercial telematics market is expanding at a compound annual rate of over 16% through the next decade. This rapid growth underscores how essential these systems have become for meeting modern requirements—ranging from Chain of Responsibility (CoR) to new corporate emissions disclosures.

In practice, telematics empowers fleets to convert raw data into strategic action across three critical pillars:

• Safer Operations: Proactive safety initiatives use real-time insights to detect high-risk patterns—such as distraction or harsh braking—enabling targeted coaching and reducing incident rates. This approach moves beyond simple monitoring, forming the basis of a safety culture that prioritises risk prevention over incident response.
• Streamlined Compliance: Automated data capture and digital reporting significantly reduce the administrative burden of staying compliant. This ensures fleets remain aligned with evolving National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) standards and ATO requirements for FBT and FTC, while minimising the risk of manual errors.
• Sustainability and Efficiency: By tracking fuel consumption, excessive idling, and overall engine performance, telematics directly supports Australian decarbonisation efforts. These tools provide the transparency needed to hit emissions targets and improve fuel economy, helping fleets achieve environmental goals without sacrificing productivity.

Together, these capabilities position telematics as a critical tool for fleets looking to improve performance today while preparing for stricter safety standards and environmental expectations in the years ahead.

Managing the Transition to Electric Vehicles with telematics

With the NVES now in full effect, Australian fleets are rapidly diversifying. 2026 is the year of the mixed fleet, requiring platforms that can:

• Unify ICE and EV Data: Monitoring battery state-of-charge for your new EVs alongside fuel burn for your existing diesel and petrol assets on a single dashboard.
• Procurement Planning: Using your current driving data to identify which ICE vehicles are the best candidates to be replaced by EVs based on their actual daily range requirements.
• Charging Logistics: Helping drivers find available charging stations and ensuring they have enough "juice" to complete their daily runs without range anxiety.

As trends in fleet telematics continue to evolve, electrification is reshaping how fleets collect and act on vehicle data. Electric vehicles (EVs) generate different types of information than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles — especially battery performance and charging session metrics. 

Dedicated EV-focused telematics helps fleets monitor these unique data points in real time, enabling more accurate predictions of range and uptime needs. By understanding battery health and charging patterns, fleet teams can reduce unplanned downtime and improve overall EV reliability.

Unifying EV and ICE data on a single telematics platform gives fleets a holistic view of performance across their entire operation. This centralised visibility allows teams to: 

• Benchmark efficiency
• Optimise routing based on power availability
• Plan strategic electrification investments with confidence 

Telematics data also supports broader electrification planning by highlighting where charging infrastructure is needed most and how different duty cycles impact EV performance. For mixed fleets navigating the transition to electric power, integrated telematics delivers the insights needed to balance operational effectiveness with long-term sustainability goals.

Digital twins are elevating fleet planning

Digital twins are emerging as a powerful planning tool as fleets look for ways to reduce risk and improve decision-making before deploying changes in the real world. In fleet operations, a digital twin is a virtual model of vehicles, assets or entire operations that uses real telematics data to simulate performance under various conditions. 

Transportation and technology research increasingly point to digital twins as a foundational capability for the future of transportation, particularly as fleets become more connected, automated and data-driven.

Digital twins make it possible for fleets to test scenarios without disrupting operations. Fleet teams can model route changes, maintenance strategies, electrification plans or safety initiatives to understand potential impacts on cost, uptime and performance before implementation. 

By combining telematics data with advanced analytics, digital twins help fleets move from reactive planning to proactive optimisation, reducing uncertainty and supporting smarter long-term decisions as fleet complexity continues to grow.

Cybersecurity and data privacy remain fleet essentials

As vehicles become more connected, fleet data protection has moved beyond IT and into daily operations. Modern telematics systems collect and transmit large volumes of sensitive information, including vehicle location and operational performance. 

Industry and transportation research consistently highlight that as connectivity increases, so does exposure to cyber risk, making strong security practices essential to maintaining trust, compliance and business continuity.

For fleets, effective cybersecurity and data privacy strategies focus on a few critical areas:

• Data protection: Encryption, secure data storage and controlled access help safeguard sensitive fleet and driver information.
• System integrity: Secure device firmware and regular updates reduce vulnerability as telematics technology evolves.
• Governance and compliance: Clear policies around data ownership, usage and privacy help fleets meet regulatory requirements and manage risk as regulations continue to tighten.

By prioritising cybersecurity and data privacy alongside connectivity and analytics, fleets can confidently adopt advanced telematics capabilities while protecting the data that powers their operations.

Prepare for the future of fleet telematics with Geotab 

As telematics industry trends continue to reshape fleet operations, the most successful fleets will pair advanced technology with a scalable, secure platform. Understanding today’s telematics trends is the first step, but turning those insights into action requires the right foundation. 

Geotab helps fleets do exactly that by combining data-driven intelligence with flexible, enterprise-grade fleet management software designed to support long-term growth.