Electric vehicle technology firm charging ahead with new owner
FleetCarma has been acquired by Geotab, a leader in connected-vehicle technology
WATERLOO — Matt Stevens is energized by the news the company he heads — electric vehicle technology specialist FleetCarma — has been acquired by Oakville-based Geotab.
“I’d say we now get to stand on the shoulders of giants,” said Stevens, FleetCarma’s chief executive officer. “The speed at which we can now go at is an order of magnitude faster.”
Founded in 2007 as CrossChasm, FleetCarma provides solutions that help manage electric vehicle fleets and promote their wider adoption. Along with collecting vehicle and charging data, the Waterloo company’s technology can also manage the charging load to moderate power consumption and keep peak demand costs down.
“We make sure that your power doesn’t conk out when your neighbour plugs in their Tesla,” Stevens said.
Geotab is a global leader in connected vehicle technology for commercial vehicles, with a platform that collects and analyzes data ranging from GPS tracking and time, to engine information, fuel consumption and collision detection. Its focus had been on gas and diesel vehicles.
“They were starting to build out their capabilities in EVs (electric vehicles),” Stevens said. “It’s a gap that every other major provider has.”
The acquisition of FleetCarma closes that gap for Geotab, which has more than a million of its devices under management around the world. FleetCarma’s specialized hardware and cloudbased platform is in use in more than 30 countries.
“Geotab’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and innovation is further amplified by the acquisition of FleetCarma,” Geotab CEO Neil Cawse said in a news release. “We are excited to expand our presence in the EV space and offer our current and future customers a reliable telematics solution to help meet their changing business and fleet needs.”
The goal will be to provide a single, streamlined system that works for all types of vehicles.
FleetCarma will remain in Waterloo with a team of about 40 employees. “We’ll be looking to grow that even faster than we already were,” Stevens said.
Geotab has about 400 employees, the majority of whom are in Oakville. It also has offices in Las Vegas and in Europe.
“Any fleet that is even thinking about going electric ... they have the single best-in-class solution that will take them from zero per cent electric to 100 per cent electric, and anywhere in between,” Stevens said.
FleetCarma has spent a decade developing and refining its technology, and building its brand and customer base, said Stevens. “It feels like showtime’s about to happen.”
bdavis@therecord.com, Twitter: @DavisRecord