Car IQ Launches Station Controls, Delivering Real-Time Fuel Cost Control and Smarter Fleet Management
Car IQ, a pioneer in vehicle-based payments, has announced the launch of Station Controls, a groundbreaking enhancement to its Car IQ Pay platform. Designed to revolutionize how fleet operators manage one of their largest operating costs—fuel—Station Controls introduces real-time decision-making that allows fleets to proactively manage and reduce fuel expenses. By using vehicle intelligence and dynamic pricing data, the system automatically blocks high-cost stations and directs drivers to more affordable fueling options nearby.
This innovation marks a shift from the traditional, reactive model of fuel expense management—where fleets only learn about overspending after the fact—to a predictive and automated approach that delivers instant savings and operational efficiency.
The Fuel Expense Challenge for Fleets
Fuel remains one of the most significant and volatile cost components for fleet operators. Prices can fluctuate daily, varying widely across regions and even within the same city. Historically, fleets have relied on fuel cards, which provide post-transaction visibility but offer little opportunity for real-time cost control.
As Car IQ’s internal analysis shows, this gap in visibility leads to considerable inefficiencies. After reviewing hundreds of thousands of fleet transactions, the company discovered that drivers select high-cost stations roughly 20% of the time, often adding as much as 36 cents per gallon in unnecessary expense.
Such overspending can quickly add up across large fleets. A company with hundreds of vehicles filling up daily could see annual losses in the tens—or even hundreds—of thousands of dollars simply due to drivers choosing more expensive stations.
From Reactive Oversight to Proactive Fuel Spend Control
Car IQ’s Station Controls directly addresses this problem by transforming fuel purchasing into a pre-transaction process. Rather than waiting for end-of-month statements, fleet managers can now rely on the platform’s intelligence to control spending at the moment it happens.
Unlike traditional fuel cards, Car IQ’s technology leverages the vehicle itself as the payment instrument. This allows the system to gather and analyze data that fuel cards cannot access, including:
- Vehicle location in real time
- Current fuel level and range
- Live fuel prices at nearby stations
With these data points, Station Controls intelligently identifies optimal fueling options and automatically blocks high-priced stations before a transaction occurs. As a result, drivers are seamlessly guided to lower-cost stations without the need for manual decision-making or post-spend reconciliation.
“Over the past several years, we’ve analyzed hundreds of thousands of transactions and uncovered a clear trend: drivers often fuel at higher-priced stations, driving up costs per gallon,” said Kate Coomber, Director of Marketing at Car IQ. “For too long, fleets have been stuck reacting to spend after the fact. The real opportunity now lies in shifting to real-time control, giving fleets the ability to proactively manage spend and significantly reduce costs.”
How Station Controls Works
The Station Controls feature uses Car IQ’s connected vehicle ecosystem to integrate telematics, fuel pricing data, and payment authentication in one seamless flow. When a vehicle needs to refuel, the system:
- Analyzes nearby fuel stations within a defined radius, typically one mile.
- Compares real-time fuel prices to determine the most cost-effective options.
- Automatically blocks access to high-cost stations that exceed preset thresholds.
- Guides drivers to approved, affordable fueling locations using the Car IQ Pay app.
This process takes place dynamically, ensuring that decisions are based on the most up-to-date data available—something traditional fleet cards and expense systems cannot offer.
Key Features and Benefits
Car IQ’s Station Controls provides fleets with a suite of advanced tools and tangible benefits that extend beyond basic cost savings:
- Dynamic, Real-Time Blocking: Continuously updates to restrict transactions at overpriced stations within a one-mile radius of the vehicle, adapting instantly as market conditions shift.
- Guaranteed Savings: Fleets using Station Controls have demonstrated savings of up to 36¢ per gallon, a significant improvement over traditional fuel card discounts that typically range from just 2¢ to 10¢ per gallon.
- Elimination of Driver Error: Since blocked stations are automatically excluded, drivers no longer face the burden of choosing between expensive and budget-friendly options. The system ensures consistent compliance without adding complexity.
- Preservation of Driver Convenience: Even with cost-control mechanisms in place, Car IQ ensures convenience. The Car IQ Pay app dynamically presents nearby approved stations, guaranteeing fueling options are always available while optimizing for cost.
Empowering Fleets with Data-Driven Decision Making
Beyond immediate savings, Station Controls enhances fleet intelligence by generating valuable insights on fuel purchasing behavior, station preferences, and regional price disparities. Fleet managers can access this data through the Car IQ Pay dashboard, enabling:
- Trend analysis on driver fueling habits
- Identification of high-cost regions or routes
- Optimization of fueling policies based on actual savings outcomes
This level of analytics empowers fleets to make informed, data-backed operational decisions—turning fuel management into a strategic lever rather than a passive expense.
Transforming How Vehicles Pay
At the heart of Car IQ’s innovation is its vehicle-based payments platform, which eliminates the need for physical fuel cards or driver-issued credit cards. Each vehicle becomes a secure, autonomous payment entity, capable of authenticating itself and initiating transactions directly with merchants such as fuel stations, toll booths, and service providers.
This ecosystem not only enhances payment security but also reduces fraud, a persistent issue with traditional card-based systems. Since the vehicle itself validates the purchase, there’s no risk of lost or stolen cards, unauthorized use, or inaccurate data entry.
A New Standard for Fleet Cost Control
With Station Controls, Car IQ positions itself at the forefront of next-generation fleet management technology, offering a solution that aligns cost efficiency with convenience and digital innovation.
The feature embodies the shift toward connected, intelligent fleets, where vehicles act as active participants in business decision-making. In this new paradigm, the car is no longer just a mode of transport—it’s a node in a real-time financial network capable of managing its own operating expenses.
Availability and Future Outlook
Station Controls is now available to all Car IQ Pay fleet customers, providing an immediate opportunity for fleets of all sizes to reduce fuel costs and enhance operational transparency.
As Car IQ continues to expand its platform, additional features are expected to extend this real-time control model to other vehicle-related expenses, such as tolling, maintenance, and charging for electric fleets.
The company’s vision is clear: to create a frictionless, intelligent payment ecosystem where vehicles connect directly to merchants, streamlining transactions, cutting costs, and simplifying fleet management from end to end.
