Meet the author: Colm Brady
Colm is a seasoned mobility and automotive leader with 25+ years of experience. As CEO & Co-Founder of RentalMatics, he’s driving global innovation in telematics. Previously CEO of Europcar Ireland, he also led GoCar to become Europe’s most profitable car-sharing platform.
The opinions expressed in this article are only those of the author and not necessarily those of ACRA.
ACRA disclaimer: some of the use cases discussed in this article raise issues under privacy and rental laws.
Ask anyone who has spent time managing a rental fleet and they’ll tell you: it’s a business where margins live and die by the details. A late return here, a missed maintenance issue there, a disputed damage claim that drags on for weeks. These aren’t just inconveniences, they’re hits to the bottom line.
For years, telematics helped us get a handle on those details. We could see where our vehicles were, how fast they were going, and when they were due for service. But the real shift, the one we’re in the middle of now, isn’t just about visibility. It’s about intelligence. It’s about using AI to not just show us what’s happening, but what might happen next.
And that changes everything.
From hindsight to foresight
The first time I saw how our predictive maintenance system flagged a braking issue on a vehicle two days before it would have triggered a manual inspection, I had a moment. Not just because a potential breakdown had been avoided, but because I realised how far the industry had come.
AI in telematics isn’t about bells and whistles. It’s about turning a fleet from a reactive operation into a proactive one. Whether it’s catching a mechanical issue early or spotting unusual driving behaviour before it becomes a problem, we’re shifting from firefighting to foresight.
That’s a huge cultural change. But it’s also becoming a commercial necessity.
Damage disputes, without the drama
Anyone who has been on the receiving end of a vehicle damage dispute knows how draining they can be, for the customer, for the staff, and for the business. The traditional process is slow, inconsistent, and wide open to dispute.
Now, with AI-powered image capture and analysis, we can record what a car looks like before and after every rental, and let the system flag any changes. No ambiguity. No finger-pointing. Just facts.
What used to take hours of admin and difficult conversations now gets handled in minutes. It’s not just more efficient, but less stressful for everyone involved.
Staying one step ahead of the storm
Extreme weather is becoming more common and it’s not just a challenge for long-haul logistics. Flash floods, sudden snowstorms, high winds… these events can throw the most seasoned rental operations into chaos.
AI is helping here, too. By analysing real-time weather data and comparing it with live fleet location information, systems can alert drivers to trouble ahead or help managers reposition vehicles in advance. It’s one of those quiet wins that doesn’t make headlines but makes a real difference.
The hidden costs that add up
Toll processing might not sound like a major problem – until you realise how much time (and money) is lost to manual reconciliation, missed charges, and billing errors.
We’ve seen how AI can completely transform this process. Automating toll tracking and matching it to journeys in real time doesn’t just cut admin. It improves cash flow, customer trust, and profitability, all while removing one more task from someone’s to-do list.
A safer way to drive
One of the things I’m most excited about is how AI is helping to improve safety, not just after the fact, but in the moment. Smart dashcams now analyse driver behaviour in real time. They flag signs of distraction, speeding, or harsh braking, and give both the driver and the manager a chance to act before an incident happens.
We’re not here to police drivers. But we are here to help them stay safe. And the early results show fewer speeding incidents, less tailgating and better compliance.
Smarter routing, less waste
In a business where fuel costs and time delays hit hard, smart routing isn’t a luxury. It’s a must-have. AI allows us to respond to live conditions, avoid traffic, and reduce unnecessary mileage. The impact? Lower emissions. Less wear and tear. Happier customers. And over time, a leaner, greener operation.
This is only the beginning
We’re still in the early days of what AI can do in fleet management. What excites me most isn’t just the technology – it’s what it enables. More responsive service. Less waste. More time spent on meaningful work and less on repetitive tasks. Which means better outcomes for businesses and customers.
AI isn’t a silver bullet. It needs context. It needs industry expertise. And it needs to be integrated in a way that makes sense for your operation, not just someone else’s blueprint.