Ericsson’s digital key tested successfully in ‘connected’ car

Beijing, April 19 (IANS) LYNK & CO, an automotive brand owned by China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, has successfully tested Ericsson’s app-based, in-car sharing feature live for the first time.

Ericsson’s ‘digital key’ and LYNK & CO’s car sharing platform provided access to the car through a smartphone, enabling the owner to remotely grant access to the vehicle.

LYNK & CO used Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud service and its leadership in Cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) to test this feature in Shanghai, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The digital key solution was born out of an innovative co-creation exercise and through cloud technology we are able to offer a new service and functionality for our customers," said Alain Visser, Chairman of LYNK & CO.

Via the LYNK & CO app, car owners can control, monitor and share their vehicle from their smartphone.

"Our partnership has positive impact on our core business by driving traffic in the networks we provide. This is the proof of our ability to drive business innovation in some of the new emerging industries we are exploring," added Charlotta Sund, Head of IoT at Ericsson.

The LYNK & CO brand was launched in October 2016 by Geely which also owns the Volvo brand.