Toyota tests car-sharing system which doesn’t use keys

In the next year, Toyota has a plan to test a new car-sharing system. This means enabling users to unlock doors and start their cars with their smartphones. With this Smart Key Box system, the need for a physical key is eliminated. Smart Key Box works through wireless signals. Toyota hopes that with this system it will encourage people to share their cars without making copies of keys. Toyota wants to help people lend their cars and let others enter the car without keys. The device is located in the glove box and doesn’t need any adjustments to the vehicle itself.

Testing is planned to take place in San Francisco in January 2017. Toyota teamed-up with Getaround car-sharing service. As Reuters reports, Getaround received a $10 million investment from a fund managed by Toyota. With this investment in Getaround, Toyota shows interest in expanding into car-sharing.

“Our goal at Getaround has always been to empower people to car-share everywhere,” said Sam Zaid, Getaround’s Founder and CEO. “Integrating our experience and purpose-built car-sharing technology with Toyota’s activities across mobility services opens up new opportunities to Toyota customers and the rapidly growing car-sharing market.”

Toyota says that users’ phones will get codes so they can access the smart key box which is inside car-sharing vehicles. When you put the phone close to the vehicle, the codes are confirmed through Bluetooth system. People can unlock and turn on the vehicles with the Smart Key Box. People who own vehicles with this system could make some extra money by renting it out.

If this experiment proves to be successful, Toyota may use it in Japan in an unmanned car rental business. There are some plans to explore the advantages of the Smart Key Box in other types of business. Toyota didn’t say how much the Smart Key Box will cost, or whether it will be a standard in its vehicles.