Hosted by Apple at its headquarters, this week’s Plugfest marks a critical milestone in the rollout of Digital Key Version 4, the latest generation of the CCC’s secure, standardized protocol for using smartphones and wearable devices to lock, unlock, and start vehicles.
Participants from across the automotive and tech industries—BMW, Google, Ford, Hyundai, Lucid, Rivian, and more—are running real-world tests to ensure seamless interoperability across devices, vehicles, and versions, with an eye toward delivering the convenience of digital keys to a growing number of drivers around the world.
“This Plugfest will support the Digital Key Version 4’s continued evolution and scale,” said Bahar Sadeghi, Technical Director at CCC. “Hands-on collaboration like this helps participants refine implementations, strengthen interoperability, and support ongoing global adoption.”
A Quiet Revolution at the Intersection of Phones and Cars
The idea is deceptively simple: instead of a key fob or a physical key, a smartphone or smartwatch becomes the gateway to your car. But under the hood—both literal and metaphorical—such a transformation demands rigorous coordination between carmakers, phone manufacturers, chip developers, and test labs. The Plugfest serves as a proving ground, where theoretical compatibility is tested against real-world complexity.
Participating members are validating the final test cases for Version 4, including new scenarios that will inform future certification benchmarks. One major focus is cross-version interoperability—ensuring that older devices using Version 3 can still reliably communicate with newer vehicles built for Version 4. “Backward compatibility isn’t just a technical goal; it’s a consumer imperative,” said one engineer from a participating smartphone company who requested anonymity due to NDA constraints.
The testing environment spans both indoor labs and outdoor test areas, mimicking everyday situations where drivers may access their cars—in parking garages, driveways, or on the street. Equipment providers specializing in Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) and ultra-wideband (UWB)—the radio technologies underpinning digital key systems—are showcasing diagnostic tools and certification gear to assist automakers and developers.
Authorized test labs such as DEKRA and TTA are conducting conformance checks across all five parts of the CCC’s formal test suite, using reference hardware to ensure that implementations meet the consortium’s strict technical standards.
A Rapidly Expanding Market—and a High-Stakes Moment
As cars increasingly resemble rolling computers, the supporting ecosystem for connectivity is growing in tandem. Analysts at McKinsey & Company estimate that the global automotive software and electronics market will reach $462 billion by 2030, more than doubling from 2019. In this future, secure and standardized interfaces like the CCC Digital Key™ could be as essential as the steering wheel.
For CCC and its over 300 member organizations, the stakes are high. Automakers are betting on seamless digital access as a differentiator in a crowded and tech-savvy market, while smartphone makers see it as one more reason consumers won’t leave home without their devices. The integration also supports broader goals of electrification and shared mobility, where digital credentials—not metal keys—govern vehicle access across fleets and owners.
Apple, a founding CCC board member, is joined at this year’s event by fellow consortium leaders from BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Google, and Mercedes-Benz, as well as tech suppliers like NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic Automotive, and Thales. Together, these companies represent the digital and mechanical halves of the automotive future, converging on protocols that emphasize security, privacy, and user convenience.
Expanding the Certification Frontier
Since its last Plugfest earlier this year, the CCC has expanded its certification program to cover enhanced use of Bluetooth LE and UWB technologies—addressing growing industry demand and opening the door to wider adoption of digital keys beyond flagship vehicles.
With cars now expected to serve as hubs of personal data, entertainment, and mobility, the need for unified access protocols has grown urgent. Whether unlocking a rental car with a smartphone in Lisbon or handing off a family vehicle to a teenager via a secure digital credential, consumers are coming to expect frictionless, secure experiences. CCC’s Digital Key is designed to support such flexibility, with security features like encryption, proximity verification, and customizable access levels baked into its architecture.
As the Plugfest wraps in Cupertino, participants return to their labs and design studios carrying more than just test results—they bring critical insights that will inform the next wave of vehicles rolling off global assembly lines. While the digital key may remain invisible to most consumers, it is rapidly becoming an indispensable part of modern car ownership—and the consortium is working to make sure it stays that way.