We all knew this day would eventually come: car manufacturers will someday do away with actual keys and replace them with digital keys that users can securely access through their smartphones. Well, that’s what Volvo is planning to do and to become the first car manufacturer to sell cars without actual keys. While it is still a year or so away, for now they’re testing this out and see how customers will react and if it is actually a feasible option for the future.
In a few months time, Volvo will be offering their customers an app that they will install in their smartphones and will replace the physical keys that we have been used to. The app can then be used to unlock doors, start the car, and maybe other purposes later on. There is also the possibility of receiving more than one key so they can access other Volvo cars that they’ll be renting or borrowing. This can also mean that you can book and pay for a car rental from anywhere in the world and then pick up the rental car from an agreed upon location, removing the need to line up in car rental offices.
This will also make car sharing easier, whether it’s with a family member, a trusted friend, or if it’s a company car, with your co-workers. They will be testing out the tech with a car sharing firm called Sunfleet in Sweden in the spring of this year. Then a limited number of commercially available cars will have the digital key tech by 2017, and unless any other car manufacturer will jump the gun, then Volvo will be the first.
Of course there are some security concerns, hacking threats, etc that Volvo will have to figure out before they make the tech commercially available. But at least, if this works, then you don’t have to worry about misplaced keys. Now you just have to make sure you won’t misplace your smartphone.
SOURCE: Volvo
