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London P2P car sharing startup first in UK to offer keyless mobile tech

HiyaCar, the London-based peer to peer (P2P) car sharing company, has become the first UK company to offer keyless car entry as part of its service.

The startup’s QuickStart technology combines with its app to take users from selecting a car to collecting and inspecting it all within minutes entirely with their smartphone, before unlocking the car utilising an encrypted unlock signal.

It also means users looking to rent out their cars do not need to go about swapping keys, effectively making the service more convenient and theoretically boosting the amount of money car sharers can make on the platform.

For security, HiyaCar has built failsafes into the technology which allows cars installed with the QuickStart technology to have their engines remotely disabled and doors locked in the event that it is stolen, while a stolen smartphone can be immediately prevented from opening any QuickStart cars.

The new keyless feature, which the firm hopes to roll out across 3,000 cars by the end of the year, is a big part of the company’s push to expand UK-wide in 2017, with Rob Larmour, COO and Co-Founder hopeful that HiyaCar can ultimately help to change perceptions of car ownership.

He said: “2017 is a big year for us, as we aim to expand across London and the UK. Our on demand QuickStart proposition will make it easier than ever to hire a car, even for short journeys.

“Ultimately, we want people to think twice about buying a new car and whether they really need it all the time, when they could just as easily borrow their neighbour’s vehicle.”

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