Donlen has entered into an agreement with Ford Commercial Solutions to provide fleet vehicle data from 2020 models through Ford's open-platform Transportation Mobility Cloud, the fleet management company has announced.

Donlen, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Bannockburn, announced the agreement at the NAFA Institute and Expo in Louisville, Kentucky.

With the move, Donlen fleets will no longer need to install telematics hardware. Vehicle data will be gathered using build-in modems and sent via cloud servers to Donlen's DriverPoint telematics platform.

"Capturing additional data through the Ford built-in modem will allow for us to provide our customers with even more fleet vehicle information at the pace they expect," said Brian Wright, Donlen's senior vice president of products and services. "In addition, efficiency is maximized because there is no installation required. Hardware management is a serious challenge for a number of our customers, and it's great that we can eliminate that pain point. As consumers, we are constantly operating in a connected world. It is exciting that the fleet industry is taking huge steps forward to harness the technology capabilities available to evolve fleet telematics."

Donlen has set a goal of being 100% deviceless in future years, according to the company.

"Working with Donlen to provide Ford vehicle information and telematics solutions provides fleet professionals with vehicle information without the hassle of installation," said Lee Jelenic, CEO Ford Commercial Solutions. “We’re pleased to welcome Donlen as an authorized Ford telematics service provider.

At least one other fleet management company has signed a similar agreement. In August 2018, ARI agreed to use Ford's vehicle data for its telematics data feed. Ford established its vehicle data unit in June 2018.