Continental to power Hiyacar’s QuickStart technology system

Hiyacar, the peer to peer car sharing platform dubbed the Airbnb for cars has announced its partnership with Continental, a specialist in automotive safety. Continental powers hiyacar’s keyless technology system, QuickStart.

The partnership with Continental ensures this is the safest and most secure way for people to share their cars. As there is no live key in the car, a person’s insurance policy is not invalidated. Additionally, hiyacar uses facial recognition to add an extra layer of security meaning that only verified drivers can use the cars that have QuickStart technology fitted.

Rob Larmour, Co-Founder of hiyacar commented: “We wanted to remove all of the barriers to car sharing. Using digital keys was the obvious solution to the hassle of having to transfer keys. However, we knew this could only happen if customers felt comfortable that their cars were safe and secure. This is why security is at the top of our agenda and why we partnered with Continental.”

Hiyacar was the first peer to peer car sharing service in the UK to implement a keyless technology system which they labelled QuickStart. By providing members with the opportunity to share a ‘digital’ set of keys, hiyacar encourages more people to share their car as they are given greater flexibility; drivers can gain access to cars on demand and owners do not have to be present at key handovers.

Continental has nearly 25 years of experience with electronic vehicle access systems, making it one of the leading suppliers of access systems worldwide.

Commenting on the partnership with hiyacar, Jennifer Wahnschaff, head of Intelligent Transportation Systems at Continental, said, “Continental is pleased that hiyacar has chosen us to be their access technology partner. Powering hiyacar’s platform is our Key as a Service (KaaS) solution which can authorise remote lock, unlock and engine start, with no changes to the car’s circuitry. Based on Continental’s future-ready hardware, KaaS offers scalability across manufacturers, vehicle models and geographies.”

Hiyacar believes in a future where people can share any car they see on the street. Their QuickStart technology is key to achieving this and so they offer a free installation of a QuickStart box to any hiyacar member.