GE Capital Fleet Services has signed an agreement with United Kingdom-based Minorplanet Systems PLC to extend its strategic alliance to North America and begin offering Minorplanet’s Vehicle Management Information (VMI) systems that utilize global positioning satellite technology. GE Capital Fleet Services will pilot Minorplanet’s VMI system in North America with a small group of U.S. customer fleets representing in excess of 10,000 commercial cars and trucks. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, there are more than 97 million commercial vehicles in the United States, which include trucks, cars, vans, and other vehicles used for business purposes. After successful pilot completion, GE Capital Fleet Services, working with Minorplanet, plans to examine all possibilities to develop the infrastructure to market and sell the VMI system to its North American customer base early next year. GE Capital Fleet Services and Minorplanet began a strategic alliance in the UK in 1998, and this year won the “Innovation of the Year” award for productivity from Fleet News, a UK fleet management trade publication.