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What fuel theft is really costing Saudi fleets — and how to stop it

Hidden losses from misuse and theft are draining fleet budgets — IoT can put you back in control.

Fuel is one of the biggest operating costs for any fleet in Saudi Arabia. But what’s often overlooked is the cost of fuel misuse and theft — and how much it’s quietly eating into profit margins. From unauthorized refueling to inefficient routes and fraud, the losses are real, and they’re often invisible.At LTS, we’ve worked with national-scale fleets to bring this problem into the light — and solve it with IoT.

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The silent cost of uncontrolled fuel

When there’s no real-time monitoring, fuel disappears in dozens of ways:

Drivers refueling personal vehicles
Fuel being siphoned or drained
Idling and overuse due to poor routing
Tampering with fuel cards or meter readings
Vehicles operating outside assigned hours or zones

Individually, these losses might go unnoticed. But across hundreds of vehicles, they add up fast — often accounting for 5–15% in untracked fuel spend.

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02

Case study: NAJM takes control of its national fleet

We partnered with NAJM Insurance Services to help them bring full transparency to their mobility operations:

Over 600 vehicles and 1,200 drivers
iButton-based driver identification to prevent unauthorized access
Remote control of vehicle ignition and door systems
Real-time monitoring of fuel usage, location, and behavior
Maintenance scheduling and route tracking from a single dashboard

The result? Real accountability — and a significant reduction in fuel misuse and operational friction.

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When there’s no real-time monitoring, fuel disappears in dozens of ways [...] often accounting for 5–15% in untracked fuel spend.

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03

Why fuel misuse is a systems problem — not a driver problem

Many fleet managers assume fuel theft is a behavioral issue. But it’s really a visibility issue. Without the data, you’re guessing — and people naturally exploit the gaps. Once real-time tracking is in place, patterns become visible, and behavior changes.
More importantly, automation removes temptation. When drivers know their refueling, mileage, and usage are being monitored, they self-correct.

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