This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 29, 2025 - January 4, 2026

For fleet and truck operators, a battery failure means loss of time, higher costs and zero bargaining power. This is where battery subscription models come in, helping commercial vehicle operators avoid costly downtime caused by unexpected failures.

“Through subscription models, vehicles do not face unplanned downtime, which can be significantly more expensive due to emergency repairs, lost revenue and operational disruptions,” says Dennis Yong, CEO and co-founder of VXI Crest Sdn Bhd.

According to the company’s press release, global commercial vehicle downtime costs fleets US$3.3 billion (RM13 billion) each year.

Instead of the current practice of replacing batteries every nine to 12 months, subscription models enable scheduled, predictive replacements that eliminate uncertainty and the risk of sudden failure, explains Yong.

In practice, battery ownership offers little real value to vehicle owners once performance declines. Most users have neither the capacity nor the incentive to store, resell or manage end-of-life batteries, which are routinely surrendered to service centres during replacements.

Building on this, Yong says a battery subscription model offers a more efficient and practical solution.

“This transition from one-time replacements to a service-based model offers the same cost as traditional replacements,  which is roughly about RM800 per truck per year. But, the subscription model comes with added benefits, including reliability and maintenance.”

Replacing failed batteries incurs additional costs on top of the price of the battery itself. For instance, emergency breakdowns often involve additional charges for battery delivery, roadside assistance and towing.

“When a battery is replaced at the point of failure, there are added costs just to get a replacement for you. There is also no choice in terms of brand when help arrives, you take the battery provided. You are not going to send them away to find another supplier with the preferred brand,” he says.

“Likewise, there is no choice on price. If the battery costs a certain amount, you pay it because you have cargo in your truck that must reach its destination within a set timeframe.”

When batteries are changed as part of preventive maintenance, it often means they are replaced before their full lifespan is used, resulting in the battery not being fully maximised, says Yong.

This is where Advanced Accumulators’ batteries, which are outfitted with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors that are connected to global SIM cards, aim to address these issues by enabling continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance.

In August, VXI Crest, along with two of Malaysia’s largest independent automotive battery distributors, YSK Marketing and FJ Union, created Advanced Accumulators. Through this partnership, the founders hope to optimise energy management and leverage extensive industry expertise across Southeast Asia.

Under the model, the company leases, maintains and monitors batteries throughout their lifespan, removing the burden of battery management from fleet owners.

“Say if you subscribe over a five-year period, during the five-year period it is a battery guarantee. It is no longer a warranty of six months or one year,” says Yong.

According to automotive battery supplier, Century Malaysia, the battery warranties of taxi, buses and commercial vehicles are about six months or reaching 20,000km in mileage.

This is where, instead of a warranty, battery guarantee plays a role, says Yong. “Commercial vehicle owners can look forward to a guaranteed battery uptime as opposed to a six-month warranty.”

By collecting and analysing real-time data from connected assets, predictive maintenance allows potential failures to be identified and addressed before they cause breakdowns, downtime or safety risks.

To boost visibility, businesses can use the VXI Connect fleet management dashboard, which gives fleet operators real-time battery and vehicle status, alerts, alarms, geo fencing and remote emergency functions such as jump-start and shutdown.

The need for this model stems from long-standing challenges with traditional batteries, including unplanned failures, downtime and inefficient maintenance, which are issues that affect both individual operators and large fleets.

For fleet operators, this translates into improved efficiency and fuel savings through idling optimisation.

And the model reduces unplanned disruptions, extends asset lifespan and lowers maintenance costs by ensuring interventions are carried out only when needed, rather than on fixed or premature schedules.

Yong says the battery predictability through the IoT sensors reaches over 95%. “Our IoT platform is built with monitoring capabilities to ensure predictive maintenance, safety and performance optimisation.”

The cloud-based database is designed for commercial vehicle fleets, offering real-time monitoring of battery and vehicle performance. It enables operators to track battery and vehicle health, movement, anomalies and fuel savings.

Other than the dashboard, there is also the VXI Connect mobile application for these truck drivers that gives the drivers battery and vehicle visibility.

Yong says the app prompts drivers to switch off their engines through their mobile phones and rely on battery-powered controls.

“[In an emergency] drivers can jump-start an over-discharged battery using the mobile app, rather than calling for roadside assistance. Businesses can save two to three litres of fuel per hour per vehicle otherwise spent on idling.”

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