Towards a universal format for digital car keys on smartphones

SEATTLE: The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) recently presented its new CCC Digital Key certification, designed to standardise and secure access to cars via smartphones equipped with a contactless chip (NFC).

In the future, it will guarantee interoperability between different brands of cars and smartphones.

In fact, this consortium based in the US state of Oregon brings together some of the world's leading automakers (BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, etc.) as well as the biggest names in tech (Apple, Google, Samsung, Xiaomi, etc.).

The idea is to offer a more reliable user experience thanks to contactless technology.

This will make it easier to unlock your car, start the engine and access certain functions directly using your smartphone. This solution is designed to be more secure than using traditional keys or digital versions that communicate via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Today, the use of digital keys for cars is booming, but suffers from a lack of standardisation.

This certification will enable carmakers to offer a digital key solution that is interoperable with smartphones from all the major manufacturers.

It should also make it easier to share a key with several people, like family members, colleagues or friends.