OEM telematics: integrating built-in vehicle telematics into your business operations

Most new vehicles now arrive with installed OEM telematics. This shift has been quite fast, so many fleets and integrators expected it to make their work easier from the outset. In theory, built-in vehicle telematics should remove hardware installations and deliver clean, native data the moment a vehicle joins the fleet. In practice, things might not work that neatly.

With all its power, OEM embedded telematics comes with limitations (because every manufacturer exposes data differently), making its integration challenging. Navixy helps telematics resellers and large fleets consolidate all OEM telematics feeds into a single, predictable structure without the need to treat each brand as a separate project.

Key takeaways

• OEM telematics provides fleets and service teams with built-in connectivity and immediate access to native vehicle data with no need for extra hardware.
• Widespread OEM connectivity allows for faster onboarding and service activation for mixed fleets.
• There are still drawbacks: car manufacturers may use different APIs, data formats, and consent rules, which complicates large integrations.
• Navixy simplifies OEM integration by unifying data sources and offering no-code tools, SQL access, and flexible APIs.

Looking to integrate OEM telematics without extra complexity? Navixy offers a straightforward way to unify vehicle native and aftermarket data in one place. Contact Sales and explore your options.

What is OEM telematics?

OEM telematics is the factory-installed connectivity built into a vehicle. Instead of mounting a separate GPS device, the car uses its own control unit to send data as soon as the vehicle leaves the assembly line. For fleets, that usually means reliable odometer readings, location, fuel level, battery state in EVs and a handful of other values straight from the source.

How OEM telematics works

An OEM telematics system follows a similar pattern across manufacturers. The details behind can differ but the overall picture is as follows.

In-vehicle hardware

A telematics control unit (TCU) sits in the vehicle. It includes a modem, GNSS, SIM or eSIM and a small processor that reads signals from CAN or automotive Ethernet. It collects mileage, fuel or battery level, status signals and fault codes, then prepares everything for transmission.

Data flow

The unit sends data when the vehicle is active or when certain events occur. Typical fields include position, odometer, fuel or battery level and diagnostic trouble codes. The link also works the other way, so the backend can push commands, such as a remote lock or a software update.

OEM backend

The manufacturer’s cloud validates and stores incoming data, then routes it to different services. Driver apps, dealer systems, emergency services, navigation features and fleet tools all sit on top of this layer. Access rules vary by region and service level.

Even with this shared structure, the way each brand handles data may differ. Update timing, field formats and available commands often vary by model and region. That inconsistency becomes noticeable in mixed fleets, especially when older vehicles still rely on aftermarket hardware.

How OEM telematics differs from aftermarket telematics

At this point, aftermarket and OEM telematics often meet in the same fleet platform. But they originate in different sources. Aftermarket telematics requires hardware installed after purchase (through wiring or the OBD II port), which gives it its own behaviour. The hardware perfectly works across many car brands and model years. It can also be moved between vehicles. Usually, it produces more consistent data structures than OEM feeds, because a device follows its own protocol, regardless of the vehicle it is installed in.

And this is where the real differences start to matter, especially once fleets begin relying more heavily on OEM telematics.

Why fleets and telematics businesses consider OEM telematics

OEM connectivity has grown quickly. Automotive OEM telematics market research from Berg Insight estimated that nearly eight in ten new cars would ship with embedded telematics by 2024, and that projection has proved realistic. Premium brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have offered factory-installed connectivity for years, while Ford, Renault, Volvo Cars, BYD and others are expanding similar programs across more regions and model lines.

For telematics businesses and large fleets, this shift brings several clear advantages.

• No hardware installation. The connectivity arrives with the vehicle. Fleets avoid scheduling installs, and resellers don’t need to coordinate third-party hardware deployments.
• Direct access to vehicle systems. Since OEM modules sit inside the vehicle’s architecture, the data tends to be more native and reliable. Odometer values, battery information in EVs, diagnostics and status signals usually come straight from the source instead of being inferred.
• Faster onboarding. There is no device to mount, so activation can be quicker. New vehicles often appear on a platform with minimal setup.
• Easier scaling in mixed fleets. When a large part of the fleet already has embedded telematics, teams can spend more time handling data and less time planning installations.

These advantages explain why many fleets want to rely on OEM telematics as their primary source for newer vehicles.

Where OEM telematics pushes back

The same shift also brings a new set of constraints that become more noticeable as soon as a fleet works with more than one manufacturer.

• Each brand behaves differently. APIs, field names, update intervals and available functions rarely match between manufacturers. Even a basic field such as odometer might use different units or rounding rules across brands. In EVs, the state of charge can update at different speeds or lag behind the trip.
• Diagnostic depth varies. Some OEMs expose a deep list of diagnostic trouble codes. Others provide only high-level warnings. This difference often appears within the same brand across model years.
• Activation and consent aren’t unified. One manufacturer requires driver approval. Another uses account-level activation. Some regions require additional steps. These differences slow adoption and make onboarding unpredictable.
• OEM and aftermarket data might not align. Mixed fleets still depend on aftermarket hardware for older vehicles. The timing, structure and content of these streams don’t match OEM data, which creates additional formatting work for integrators and platform teams.

Here’s an example that illustrates this well.

A delivery fleet in Portugal added vans from two brands offering embedded telematics. One brand provided strong odometer and fuel data but limited diagnostics. The other offered richer diagnostics but location updates that were too infrequent for dispatch. Activation also followed two separate workflows. The fleet ended up switching between OEM portals while keeping aftermarket devices on older units, and none of the data lined up cleanly.

In this scenario, it’s obvious that scaling becomes the real challenge.

Supporting a single OEM feed is manageable. Supporting five or ten quickly becomes a full-time task. Each integration needs its own logic for mapping fields, handling timing differences and managing permissions.

This is why OEM telematics becomes truly useful only when these sources can be processed in a consistent way.

How Navixy helps integrate OEM telematics

Navixy unifies OEM telematics, aftermarket devices and IoT sensors in one environment, which lets fleets and service providers work with all data without switching dashboards or handling separate workflows. OEM feeds from platforms such as GM OnStar, Ford Pro and Volvo Connected Vehicle appear next to tracker and sensor data, so teams can treat mixed hardware as one system.

OEM telematics data consolidation

Manufacturers expose their data through different APIs, structures and pacing. Navixy absorbs these variations during ingestion so fleets do not have to manage them.

APIs built for multi-source ingestion

Navixy pulls data from OEM systems along with aftermarket trackers and IoT devices. This places all telematics information in one environment without juggling multiple portals or brand-specific integrations. Navixy APIs let you bring this data into your own ecosystem and build features that match your operational flow.

IoT Logic for input alignment

OEM feeds vary in how they structure parameters. IoT Logic reshapes messages at ingestion by adjusting fields, standardizing names or generating missing values. This keeps inputs from different OEMs consistent without custom development.

Together, these capabilities remove the usual friction that comes with handling data arriving in different formats and from different systems.

Data management

After ingestion, IoT Logic becomes the main tool for shaping OEM data into operational value.

Custom rules, conditions and calculations

Teams can define calculations, apply conditions and enrich messages without building full applications. This covers odometer adjustments, fault-code filters, EV alerts or model-specific thresholds.

Event-driven actions

Logic can also trigger actions when conditions are met. Battery levels, diagnostic events or delayed location updates can start workflows or send notifications.

Because IoT Logic treats OEM and aftermarket sources the same way, workflows stay consistent even when the underlying data differs.

OEM telematics analysis and reporting

Once data is aligned, the next step is turning it into insight.

DataHub for analytics and integration

DataHub provides direct SQL access to the full telematics dataset, including OEM feeds, tracker inputs and business objects. Integrators and enterprise teams can use this to build reports, BI dashboards, ML models or custom analytics tools. OEM telematics becomes part of a shared information layer across the business.

Data transmission

After data is shaped, the platform must deliver it in formats external tools can read.

NGP as the outbound format

The Navixy Generic Protocol keeps outbound messages consistent. Regardless of the source, NGP ensures predictable fields for downstream systems.

Support for additional protocols

Navixy can also transmit data in formats such as Recurso Confiable or Wialon IPS, etc., when needed, which helps teams use OEM data even in systems that were not designed for it.

When ingestion, alignment, logic, analytics and output occur within one environment, OEM telematics becomes far easier to use. Navixy eliminates the need to maintain separate structures for each manufacturer and lets teams combine OEM and aftermarket data for internal and external applications without building new integrations.

If you want more details about Navixy solutions for OEM telematics integration, you can book a demo and discuss your use case with our team.

Final word: bringing OEM telematics into everyday operations

As we can see, OEM telematics is changing the balance between hardware and data. As more vehicles arrive ready to share useful information straight from the factory, the practical value for businesses shifts toward what they can do with that information rather than how they collect it. This opens the door to simpler rollouts, cleaner insights and new service models that rely on the data vehicles already produce.

Navixy helps turn this shift into something workable. By giving fleets and service providers a place where built-in and aftermarket data can live together, it becomes easier to experiment, refine processes and build services that match how connected vehicles are evolving. Instead of treating OEM data as an exception, teams can approach it as a normal part of their operations and make better decisions with fewer steps.