Dollar Thrifty Car Rental and Novatel Wireless Expand Relationship

SAN DIEGO and JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIFI), a leading global provider of solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), including software-as-a-service (SaaS), and Dollar Thrifty Car Rental in South Africa, a Hertz Global Holdings Company (NYSE:HTZ), one of the largest car rental companies in the world, has selected the Novatel Wireless Ctrack fleet management solution. This partnership builds on an existing long-term relationship between the two companies and will allow Thrifty to manage and protect its entire fleet of rental vehicles against theft, damage, and loss.

Dollar Thrifty is one of the fastest growing independent car rental companies in South Africa. The global car rental market size will experience strong growth through 2022, primarily due to a boom in travel, according to many industry research analysts.

"Prior to the acquisition of Ctrack, Novatel Wireless had only been able to provide Thrifty with the hardware piece to the puzzle," said Sue Swenson, CEO of Novatel Wireless. "Now, Thrifty is able to deploy a holistic fleet management solution complete with sophisticated hardware and an advanced SaaS platform all from one partner. This is a great example of the scale our combined businesses create to achieve our goal of driving shareholder value by accelerating fleet subscriber growth and profitability."

The car rental industry has many challenges, but one of the most pressing areas is risk mitigation and asset control, such as vehicle loss, boundary violations, and abuse and theft, which can result in significant claims. Ctrack's fleet management solution also delivers valuable market insights essential for forecasting and planning. By providing extensive visibility into the daily activities of their fleet vehicles, Dollar Thrifty is able to view all of their vehicles from the national level right down to individual branches with Ctrack.

"With the combined solution from Novatel Wireless and Ctrack, we are able to move away from managing multiple suppliers and systems, which greatly streamlines our operations and associated costs," said Lance Govender, Managing Director of Dollar Thrifty Car Rental in South Africa. "We are excited to have a ROI-focused solution that improves customer service, provides valuable market insights for business planning, and mitigates risk."

About Novatel Wireless, Inc.
Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIFI) is a leading global provider of solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), including software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for the fleet telematics market.  Our innovative products and solutions provide anywhere, anytime communications and analytics for consumers and businesses of all sizes, with approximately 164,000 subscribed fleet vehicles for Ctrack among the Company's 534,000 global subscribers. Novatel Wireless, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California. www.novatelwireless.com. @MIFI  (Twitter);  (LinkedIn)

About Thrifty Car Rental

Thrifty Car Rental is one of the fastest growing independent car rental companies in South Africa and Namibia. They are members of the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. Presently, Thrifty Car Rental has a strong national footprint, with representation at all the major airports as well as Central City branches, currently holding 31 branches in total.

Dollar Thrifty Car Rental has won numerous ACSA Feather Awards for Best Car Rental Company in our class over the last 5 years. https://www.thrifty.co.za/company.html

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to a variety of matters, including, without limitation, statements related to the ability of Novatel Wireless to expand its addressable markets and drive growth in service revenue and broaden its customer base as a result of the acquisition of DigiCore, and other statements that are not purely statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Novatel Wireless and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Novatel Wireless undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These forward-looking statements also involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. These factors include risks relating to technological changes, new product introductions, continued acceptance of Novatel Wireless' products and dependence on intellectual property rights, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and extended sales cycles. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Novatel Wireless in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Novatel Wireless for the year ended December 31, 2015, and in other filings made with the SEC by Novatel Wireless (available at www.sec.gov).

Editorial Contacts:
For Novatel Wireless
Anette Gaven
[email protected] 
619.993.3058