Nigerians now spend fortune on car tracking devices

Sunday Trust gathered that some Nigerians spend between N50,000 and N250,000 to get their cars tracked from the men of the under-world, no thanks to the disturbing rate of car theft and the seeming helplessness of authorities to nip the development in the bud through conventional methods.   Experts also say companies and businesses can […]

Sunday Trust gathered that some Nigerians spend between N50,000 and N250,000 to get their cars tracked from the men of the under-world, no thanks to the disturbing rate of car theft and the seeming helplessness of authorities to nip the development in the bud through conventional methods.

 

Experts also say companies and businesses can also use their car tracking services to monitor their official vehicles.

Although, experts say the tracking devices will not prevent disappearances of cars, respondents told our correspondent that getting the location of their automobiles is as good as recovering them from thieves.

There are indications that companies specializing in these devices are increasing in Lagos and other parts of the country due to renewed interest Nigerians are currently showing in the product. The companies have also introduced varieties of the devices depending on the purchasing power of the car owners.

For instance MTN Nigeria, in collaboration with Adata C-track and AA Rescue, recently launched C-track Secure Service that enables customers to recover stolen vehicles, tow broken down cars as well as monitor the speed and location of vehicles, wherever they may be.

MTN’s Chief Marketing and Customer Relations Officer, Bola Akingbade, explained that the product promises to help the company’s subscribers keep track of the locations of their vehicles from the comfort of their homes or offices or even while on the move, via their mobile phones.

“This latest technology will help our subscribers safeguard some of their very precious possessions against deliberate misuse, theft or other forms of loss or abuse.”

Jose Marsal, International Manager, DigiCore International, owners of the technology, said C-track, which ranks second best in the world, combines tracking and recovery technologies and has outstanding success rate.

According to him:”The technology is an end-to-end monitoring system embedded in an onboard computer and installed in the car and uses GPS/GSM radar to track vehicles to within four metre radius. It uses GPS satellites in tracking vehicles in areas with out street names or landmarks.”

“C-track is a comfortable, prompt and reliable technology that enables customer to remotely demobilize their vehicles just by sending an SMS. To date, it has recorded outstanding 99 per cent and 98 per cent success rates in Pakistan and South Africa respectively’’.

Another car tracking devices provider is StremcomTrack .Its clientele base rangeds from corporate organizations to individuals, according to one of the officials of the company

The company said it offers reliable car tracking services with two GPS tracker devices. The basic GPS tracking device called STrack Basic offers tracking via SMS or GPRS, battery and speeding alert, engine cut, SOS panic button, fuel and temperature sensor, and lots of other features.

The official said second car tracking device is the STrack Plus, which offers all features of STrack Basic, but adds more advanced features. It supports a camera and features more ports for more sensors.

Besides, Cotrac, a Global Positioning System (GPS)/GSM based technology uses navigation satellite network to calculate vehicle location.

The package which is used by MTN and Glo enables car owners to receive information about the location of their cars via SMS. They can also track your vehicle via the internet.

Its features include; automatic vehicle immobilizer and vehicle recovery service.

Other notable companies that provide these devices like Naija Navigator, SS Track, Gap Nigeria and Olivetrak have continued to enjoy the support of car owners in the country.

Cost isn’t the problem

Our correspondent gathered that most customers of the car tracking devices don’t careabout the cost of the services.

A Lagos resident, Sola Awe said he has no regrets using the MTN device to track his car.

According to him, it is not the amount of money he used to buy the product that matters, but the services it rendered him on a particular day that would have landed him in serious problem

A Lagos business man, Biodun  Adesanya, who uses  Jeep told our correspondent that he uses N200,000 annually to track his automobile, which he refers to ’My dream car’.

He recalled a day the car was stolen and he tracks it within 24 hours in Lagos suburb.

‘’I must say the service is wonderful and worthwhile. To be candid the cost borne on tracking effort is no where the cost of my car and the near agony I would have gone through if it was not tracked. I have also tracked my other cars.

We enjoyed patronage but

One of the officials of a Lagos-based car tracking company disclosed that it is a good business and that his company is enjoying considerable patronage.

He said the rising overhead cost borne on the business is one of his company’s set backs.

‘’There is also the need for more enlightenment on car tracking devices. Many Nigerians, including the elite class are still not at home with the import of car tracking. Some sees it as a wasteful exercise. The industry is still growing and we can only hope more Nigerians will key into it in view of the large numbers of cars in Nigeria.

FRSC’ endorsement

The Federal Road Safety Commission gave its blessings to the tracking devices.

The FRSC said the launch of this product would give vehicle owners a peace of mind, control over their vehicles and enhance the safety of lives and property.

Mr A. Abu, Assistant Corps Marshal of the Lagos Zonal Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission, gave the blessings at the launch of the vehicle tracking device, Adata C-track and MTN.

He said:”We, at the Federal Road Safety Commission, always identify with anything that enhances safety of road users; that is why we support this service. It will go a long way in ensuring that prompt help gets to road users in need of it.”