Automotive supplier Continental has started testing of new digital car key technology that is wirelessly installed in a smartphone.
The company has begun a field test in Bordeaux with a fleet of electric vehicles along with Veolia, EVTRONIC, Mercur, and Proxiway.
The digital key can be used to access, start an electric vehicle and provides authorization for the use of charging station, while reservation of the charging stations can be done with the cell phone app.
Under the plan to create an electric vehicle fleet operated in car sharing by different small and medium enterprises, the company will introduce a car sharing solution that includes smartphone car key, the in-car electronics and the fleet management.
According to the company, the digital key exchanges data with the vehicle using near field communication (NFC), which is done by sending an encrypted data record to the cell phone when the vehicle is to be used.
The record is stored on the SIM card and contains access authorization for the respective vehicle that can also be used access the vehicle and start the engine.
