Real-time damage detection for fleet operators boosted by carValoo, Fleet Technology deal

Real-time damage detection for fleet operators boosted by carValoo, Fleet Technology deal

(IN BRIEF) Thyssenkrupp subsidiary, carValoo, has partnered with Fleet Technology GmbH in a growth deal. Fleet Technology has acquired 77.5% of carValoo’s shares, with thyssenkrupp retaining 22.5%. The investment will boost carValoo’s cloud services for fleet operators, which offer real-time, AI-powered vehicle condition and damage detection. The company’s founders will remain on the management board and carValoo aims to break even in two years while tripling its customer base. The company plans to expand its services in the future to include automation solutions for all claims handling processes.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESSEN, 7-Feb-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — thyssenKrupp AG (ETR: TKA), a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate, is proud to announce that its digital start-up carValoo is set for growth with a new partner and shareholder, Fleet Technology GmbH, acquiring 77.5 percent of the shares in carValoo GmbH. With this new partnership, carValoo’s cloud services, developed by thyssenkrupp, will be further invested in and expanded, putting carValoo on the path to success. Thyssenkrupp will retain a 22.5 percent stake in carValoo.

CarValoo, which spun off from an innovation incubator at thyssenkrupp in 2020, offers fleet operators a damage detection solution based on artificial intelligence. The solution provides real-time insights into vehicle condition, damage events and utilization history, improving fleet management and reducing revenue loss due to damage.

Tom Althoff, Managing Director of carValoo GmbH: “Our goal was to build a solid customer base during the first two years of the company’s existence, and to bring an investor on board with whom we can continue our growth course in the long run. We’ve achieved both these goals. In Fleet Technology, we have found a shareholder that specializes in mobility, the share economy and IoT – making them a perfect fit for us. We intend to develop further synergy effects and business models from this partnership in the future.”

CarValoo currently supplies around ten fleet operators from Germany and Europe, primarily rental car and car-sharing providers. With the new investment, the start-up aims to break even within the next two years and triple the number of customers through business scaling and new market development.

“Accurate damage detection and efficient claims management is a key challenge for fleet operators towards achieving greater profitability,” explains Alex Kirn, founder and CEO of Fleet Technology. “carValoo solves this problem with fully digital damage detection delivering a positive business case to fleet operators right from the word go. This technology will fundamentally change fleet operations.”

In addition to improving claims management, carValoo has plans to expand its services to include automation solutions for all downstream claims handling processes. This expansion is expected to further boost the efficiency of fleet providers.

Founders Tom Althoff, Nico Schön, and Sophie Wei will remain on the company’s management board, bringing years of expertise and a passion for innovation to the partnership.

About CarValoo
carValoo GmbH is a provider of artificial intelligence that reliably detects any kind of utilization or damage pattern from a vehicle’s movement data. The carValoo app provides fleet managers with an overview of the condition of their vehicle fleet in real time, and automatically informs them of any damage that has occurred. In addition, carValoo makes for complete transparency on utilization-dependent vehicle data, such as fuel level, battery power, tire pressure, and service messages. Subsequent processes such as documentation, appraisal and claims management are also carried out digitally. This enables fleet operators to perform maintenance work more efficiently as well as saving costs and increasing vehicle safety.

About Fleet Technology
Fleet Technology is a leading provider of software and hardware-based solutions that help fleet operators digitalize and automate their processes, to increase efficiency and improve the user experience. With over 8,000 customers in 50 countries operating more than 700,000 vehicles with millions of users, Fleet Technology has a proven track record of acquiring, managing and building profitable growth companies. Fleet Technology was founded in 2009 by Alexander Kirn as the first German search fund.

Media contact:

Automotive Technology
Konrad Boecker
Head of Communications and Press Office
Telephone:+49 201 844 553084
Cell phone:+49 173 8982102
konrad.boecker@thyssenkrupp.com

SOURCE: thyssenkrupp AG