Press Release, 3 December 2025
Element Fleet Management (via its mobility arm Element Mobility) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Car IQ — a San Francisco–based startup specializing in connected-vehicle payment technology. The deal, expected to close in December 2025, will give Element control over what will become the fleet industry’s first large-scale platform allowing vehicles themselves to autonomously initiate, authenticate, and complete payments.
Car IQ’s proprietary system eliminates the need for drivers to carry cards, enter PINs, or handle manual reconciliations. Once embedded in Element’s existing fleet-management ecosystem, this innovation promises fleets stronger spending control, lower fraud risk, instant transaction visibility and simplified accounting.
For Element, the acquisition extends its vision beyond traditional fleet services merging vehicle connectivity, data-driven insights, and now seamless digital payments. As per Element Mobility’s president, this move is “a key pillar” in building a holistic, connected-fleet platform. Meanwhile, Car IQ’s founder expects faster adoption of vehicle-centric payments and expanded payment offerings for fleets.
Once live, fleets across the U.S., Canada and potentially beyond could manage fueling, tolls, maintenance fees and other routine expenses directly through their vehicles. This marks a significant step toward fully automated, data-driven fleet operations, and could reshape how commercial and shared mobility is managed in the digital era.
Compiled using AI
