Volvo to introduce cars without keys from 2017 as it plans to launch digital key technology that can be accessed via mobile phone application
Volvo Cars has announced that it will become the first auto manufacturer to introduce cars without keys from 2017 onwards. It will buck the trend of physical keys used to unlock the car or start engine. The physical key will be ditched in favour of a digital key as in this technologically advanced world, Volvo is mulling to push the boundaries of the automotive industry.
The digital key car technology will be demonstrated at the 2016 Mobile World Congress scheduled between February 22 and 25 in Barcelona at the Ericsson booth. This follows Volvo’s success in generating a one-timed digital key to the delivery company for dropping online purchase directly to the Volvo customers’ cars.
The buyers of the Swedish luxury auto major’s cars will get access to a mobile phone application and through which the digital key can be enabled. Set to be introduced in the popular Android, IOS and other digital platforms, the technology works in a way that the it’s Bluetooth enabled to provide customers an ease of use in operating the vehicle from the outside and also sharing useful data on-drive.
The application offered to Volvo customers will basically digitize the functions of physical keys and therefore the digital key unlocks or opens the doors and boot, acts as engine starter, etc. Volvo has plans to provide customers with more than one digital key to get them access to as many Volvo luxury cars as they’d desire for.
The new technology has variety of functions as for instance the Volvo cars can be booked and rented through the application from anyplace and the digital keys will be sent to their phones directly. The rental car located can be detected with the GPS functionality and with the received digital key the booked customers can drive away without any additional interventions and avoid delays at rental desks.
Moreover, the Volvo owner can send the digital key to any preferred member of his family or otherwise so that the car can be accessed without having to pass on the physical key. Mobile phone has been so significant an item to carry wherever you go and thus the digital key technology will become a much applauded addition besides the brand’s world-renowned safety pioneering technologies.
Volvo has said that the technology will come to the fore via Sunfleet car sharing outfit at Gothenburg airport in Sweden this spring. A specific range of commercial cars will be incorporated with the innovative digital key technology next year as a trial before reaching premium car market customers in Europe and around the world.
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