A new battery-monitoring-as-a-service program from Clarios Connected Services uses predictive analytics and automatic replacement to reduce downtime and smooth fleet maintenance costs.
Building on its battery monitoring platform introduced last year, Clarios Connected Services is turning battery management for trucking fleets into a fully managed, subscription-based service.
At the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting in Nashville, the company introduced Battery Manager Pro, an as-a-service offering that combines continuous battery monitoring, predictive analytics, and automated replacement planning.
The launch expands on Clarios’ Battery Manager technology — recognized by Heavy Duty Trucking as a Top 20 Product — by adding a managed service model designed to remove both operational guesswork and budget volatility for fleets.
Many fleets lack accurate insights into battery health. As a result, they either replace batteries earlier than necessary, wasting money, or wait until a battery fails, risking downtime.
From Monitoring to Full-Service Management
While the earlier system gave fleets visibility into battery health, Battery Manager Pro goes further by actively managing the process.
Using onboard Internet of Things hardware and cloud-based analytics, the system tracks battery performance in real time and determines when a battery is truly nearing the end of its life. Fleets are notified in advance so replacements can be scheduled during routine maintenance, avoiding roadside failures.
Rather than ordering batteries as needed, fleets operate under a subscription model. When a battery is replaced from shop inventory, Clarios automatically ships a replacement to replenish stock.
This predictive approach ensures batteries are replaced only when needed, helping fleets reduce unexpected failures and improve total cost of ownership, according to the company.
No More Guesswork
That shift, Clarios said, is about eliminating uncertainty.
“Drivers aren’t stranded — that safety factor is key,” said Junior Barrett, global director of business development at Clarios. “All your battery maintenance happens in the shop, not on the road.”
Rather than ordering batteries as needed, fleets operate under a subscription model. When a battery is replaced from shop inventory, Clarios automatically ships a replacement to replenish stock, maintaining consistent inventory levels across locations.
The goal is a system that fits into existing operations without adding complexity. Initially, the subscription will use a fleet’s existing batteries. When those batteries are near failure, Clarios will send its own batteries as replacement inventory.
“Everyone should feel like they’re working in a system that just works,” Barrett said. “There shouldn’t be any anxiety about, ‘Is my battery going to fail?’”
Smoother Budgets, Fewer Surprises
The shift to a subscription model is as much about financial predictability as it is about maintenance.
Instead of large, uneven capital outlays, often spiking later in the year as batteries fail with the advent of cold weather, fleets pay a fixed monthly fee.
“This saves you up to $500 a truck and smooths out your budget,” a Clarios spokesperson said. “No more rollercoaster in the third and fourth quarters with wild fluctuations in capital expenditures.”
For large fleets, the savings can scale quickly. A 1,000-truck operation, for example, could see annual savings of about $500,000, according to the company.
Extending Battery Life, Reducing Downtime
Clarios said the system can extend battery life by 30% to 35% and save fleets money by eliminating premature replacements.
At the same time, predictive replacement helps prevent breakdowns that lead to costly road calls, driver delays, and potentially unsafe roadside situations.
A key benefit is reducing uncertainty for both fleet managers and drivers. Instead of reacting to failures, or replacing batteries “just in case,” fleets can rely on data-driven decisions and scheduled maintenance.
Many fleets today replace batteries too early because they lack clear visibility into battery condition (wasting money), or too late, risking breakdowns.
“You see a lot of people overspending on batteries because they don’t know when they’re failing,” Barrett said. “They change them too soon — or they’re on a road call, get a jump-start, and end up replacing everything.”
The system can also flag related issues, such as underperforming alternators or starter problems, helping fleets address root causes rather than repeatedly replacing batteries.
“If we see the battery dropping while the vehicle is running, we know the alternator isn’t performing,” Barrett said. “So you’re not just putting in a new battery when something else is wrong.”
Part of a Broader Connected Ecosystem
Battery Manager Pro is part of Clarios’ Connected Services platform, which includes IdleLess, Battery Manager, and Trailer Battery Manager, all built on the same IoT hardware and analytics infrastructure.
Together, the platform is designed to give fleets a more standardized, data-driven approach to battery management across vehicles, locations, and operating conditions.
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