Volvo launches first keyless car

Volvo Cars has plans to become the first automotive manufacturer to offer cars without keys from 2017. Volvo will make this feature available to its customers through a digital key which can be accessed from an app in their mobile phones. This new technology will be Bluetooth enabled providing customers more flexibility.

The new app from Volvo will enable its customers to perform every function which a physical key is capable of. The digital key will be able to lock or unlock the doors and the boot as well as starting the engine. The app further enables the customers to access more than digital key, thus a customer can have access to various Volvo cars at different locations. Thus the application platform can also be availed by customers looking to rent out Volvo vehicles across the globe where they can book and pay for a rental car and have the key digital key delivered to their mobile phones.

Henrik Green, Vice President Product Strategy & Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Cars, said, “At Volvo we are not interested in technology for the sake of technology. New technology has to make our customers’ lives easier and save them time. Mobility needs are evolving and so are the customer’s expectations to access cars in an uncomplicated way. Our innovative digital key technology has the potential to completely change how a Volvo can be accessed and shared. Instead of sitting idle in a parking lot the entire day, cars could be used more often and efficiently by whomever the owner wishes.”

The test pilot for this project will be run at the Gothenburg airport, Sweden in the spring season of 2016 via its car sharing firm Sunfleet. A limited number of commercially available cars will be equipped with the new digital key technology in 2017.