Check Digital Tracking Compatibility Before You Fit GPS Trackers to Your Taxi, Rental or Dealership Fleet

You do not want to fit a tracker to every vehicle if you do not have to. You also do not want to pay for a system and find out afterwards that it does not suit your cars.

What is digital tracking and how does it differ from a GPS tracker?

A GPS tracker is a device someone fits to your vehicle. Digital tracking skips the device: it reads location and running data from the connectivity many vehicles already have built in, so there is nothing to fit and no hardware to buy.

It does not replace hardware for every vehicle, which is why the check comes first.

Which vehicles support digital tracking?

Many vehicles from 2016 onwards already carry the built-in connectivity that digital tracking uses. Age alone does not decide it, though. Compatibility depends on make, model and specification, so a taxi, a rental car and a forecourt car of the same age can give different answers.

Newer is a fair starting point, but each manufacturer handles this in its own way, and The Car Expert notes the details vary between brands. Assuming by age can send you the wrong way. A check on each VIN is the only reliable answer.

Why compatibility matters before you commit

The thing at risk is the commitment: kit to buy, a fitting to book for every vehicle and often a contract to sign. If your vehicles could have been tracked without any of that, you have committed for nothing. Taxi owners pay in cars off the road. Rental firms and dealerships pay to fit a device to a vehicle they will not keep for long, and our buyers guide covers which tracker suits which fleet.

If you run a dealership, vehicles arrive and leave all the time, so checking a batch of VINs before you decide is an easy first step.

Checking digital tracking compatibility first is free and commits you to nothing.

How to check your vehicles with Traknova’s free compatibility checker

Paste your VINs into the free checker. Enter one VIN or a list, one per line or comma separated, add the email address for the results and submit. You can send up to 200 per submission, and the results are emailed within one business day. You do not need to book a demo or speak to anyone first.

Each VIN must be the full 17 characters, with no I, O or Q, so copy them carefully. You will find VINs on the V5C, in your finance or lease paperwork, on the plate in the driver’s door frame or at the lower edge of the windscreen.

Only the VIN is needed. Switching on data for a vehicle comes later, with the owner’s authorisation, and only if you decide to go ahead.

Check your vehicle list for digital tracking compatibility, free

What happens if your vehicles are compatible?

If your results show supported vehicles, the next step is a conversation about connecting them. You authorise each vehicle, and once that is done it appears on one platform quickly, with no fitting appointment and no vehicle taken off the road.

Tell your drivers about the tracking before you switch it on. The ICO’s guidance on monitoring staff is a sensible place to start, and being open up front takes the sting out of any push-back.

What if some vehicles aren’t compatible?

For vehicles that do not support digital tracking, the answer is a hardwired tracker, run from the same platform as the digital ones. It sits alongside digital tracking rather than replacing it, so a mixed fleet still shows up in one place.

Traknova’s hardwired tracker is sold with its immobiliser, and the pair is Thatcham S5 certified. Certification does not guarantee an insurer will recognise it or change a premium, so ask your insurer. Our hardwired GPS tracker guide covers the rest.

Digital tracking vs a hardware tracker: what changes for a fleet operator

Hardware still has a place. A hardwired tracker has its own power supply, which matters when theft recovery is the priority, so some operators run both.

With digital tracking there is no fitting appointment per vehicle and no unit for a driver to unplug, and once a vehicle is authorised it appears on the platform.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to run the check?

Your VINs and an email address for the results.

Does anything get installed?

No, if the vehicle is supported. The check uses only the VIN, and connecting a vehicle later needs the owner’s authorisation.

What happens to vehicles that do not qualify?

A hardwired tracker covers them on the same platform, so the whole fleet still shows in one place.

How is this different from my car’s own app?

A manufacturer’s app is a consumer feature that varies by brand. Fleet tracking gives you one view of every vehicle you run, whatever the make.

What does it cost?

It depends on fleet size and vehicle mix, so there is no single figure. The cost guide breaks it down.

Ready to see which of your vehicles qualify? Paste your VINs into the free checker. No demo, no obligation, and the answer lands in your inbox within one business day.