EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands, March 10, 2020 – NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) today announced a new automotive Digital Key Solution that enables smartphones, key fobs and other mobile devices to securely communicate, store, authenticate and share digital keys with vehicles. The solution expands the convenience of car access by providing the secure basis required to enable new features like key sharing, multi-car access, and configurable driving rights. Built on NXP’s automotive qualified Secure Element and NFC chipsets, the solution follows the Car Connectivity Consortium’s Standardization Release 2, an architecture that is endorsed by the world’s leading carmakers, smartphone manufacturers and electronics suppliers.

“The digitalization of Car Access is developing rapidly, driven by the desire for secure solutions that enable a new lifestyle,” said Markus Staeblein, Vice President & General Manager, Secure Car Access, NXP. “Imagine families and friends sharing their car keys via smart devices, fleet and car sharing companies providing keys over the cloud and online orders delivered to your car.”

The Digital Key Solution, comprised of NXP’s NFC chipsets and Secure Element technologies, including the new automotive qualified NXP Secure Element, enables the unlocking and starting of a car with an NFC-enabled smartphone, key fob or an NFC Smart Card holding a digital key. It also enables the secure sharing of vehicle access with other mobile devices, an advanced capability for the secure car access ecosystem. It can be seamlessly added to classic remote or passive entry systems.

End-to-end security is enabled by NXP Secure Elements on both the mobile and car sides. Embedded Digital Key applets support ecosystem interoperability leveraging CCC’s standardization. The solution includes NFC technology to trigger car access and driver authorization, even if a phone’s battery is low.

“Huf and NXP have been working together for years to develop industry-wide standards for communication between vehicles and smartphones,” said Dr. Fabian Lanze, Head of Processes & Security at Huf Secure Mobile. “With the integration of NXP’s NFC readers into our car access solutions, we are jointly defining the benchmark for uniform technologies according to Release 2 of the CCC standardization and are taking the next step towards digital key and Release 3.”

Secure digital key management is also the basis for enabling handsfree smart car access which will be defined in CCC Release 3. Therefore, NXP is set to combine its digital key solution with its automotive Bluetooth (BLE) for communication and its recently announced Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology for precise and secure localization.

NXP expects great strides in convenience based on the digitalization of car access, made possible by secure and interoperable standards. The end-to-end security of NXP’s digital key solution links a range of devices with vehicles, helping to create secure connections for a smarter world.

Recent NXP Car Access News
•               Car Connectivity Consortium Unveils New Features for Digital Key Specification (https://carconnectivity.org/press-release/car-connectivity-consortium-unveils-new-features-for-digital-key-specification/)
•               NCJ38A Automotive Secure Element (http://www.nxp.com/NCJ38A)
•               NXP’s Automotive NFC Portfolio: NCF3320, (https://www.nxp.com/products/security-and-authentication/secure-car-access/ncx3320-automotive-grade-nfc-frontend-ic:NCx3320) NCF3340 https://www.nxp.com/products/security-and-authentication/secure-car-access/automotive-qualified-nfc-controller-with-nci-interface:NCF3340AHNO)
•               NXP and VW share the wide possibilities of Ultra-Wideband’s (UWB) fine ranging capabilities (https://media.nxp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nxp-and-vw-share-wide-possibilities-ultra-widebands-uwb-fine)

About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. enables secure connections for a smarter world, advancing solutions that make lives easier, better, and safer. As the world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, NXP is driving innovation in the automotive, industrial & IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets. Built on more than 60 years of combined experience and expertise, the company has approximately 30,000 employees in more than 30 countries and posted revenue of $8.88 billion in 2019. Find out more at http://www.nxp.com.