Smart key systems offer customers a convenient way of operating their vehicle security systems that no other feature can yet match.  However, despite strongly positive feedback from existing customers and more than a decade of development on production vehicles, fitment rates remain relatively low.

So what is holding back smart keys from the mass market adoption that could be expected, and what can be done to overcome the challenges?  SBD’s industry whitepaper Are Smart Key Systems The Way Forward? shows the future direction for the success of this technology.

Roadmap for Smart Key Success 

A general lack of customer awareness of smart key systems is currently the biggest roadblock to fitment growth.  Put simply, not enough customers know what a smart key is or what benefits it brings.  Worse still, the lack of information from manufacturers’ websites or dealerships means that customers can rarely find out more even if they wanted to.  Is it any wonder that customers don’t buy a feature that they don’t know about or can’t understand?

Meanwhile, smart key systems have been attracting some negativity from the media, particularly in the USA where they have been blamed for customers leaving their engine running overnight or even running themselves over after leaving transmission locks unset. In almost all cases, these issues could easily be solved through only minor improvements in system design. Issues rarely arise through normal operation, but when the customer meets a new scenario it’s important that the vehicle guides them through the correct procedure.

With a combined approach of better, more accessible information on smart key systems before vehicle purchase and an increase in customer education for new or unfamiliar users, SBD see no reason why smart keys cannot become a widely available and widely accepted security and convenience feature in the future. With smart key functionality expected to become increasingly widespread across all new vehicle segments throughout the global market, can you afford not to have access to the latest SBD research on smart key systems? For more information on smart key developments or to get a FREE copy of the whitepaper contact Kavitha at kkuppuswamy@sbd.co.uk.