BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), a cross-industry organization dedicated to advancing vehicle-to-device connectivity solutions, achieved significant growth in 2024. CCC’s notable strides over the last year include expanding its membership base, strengthening the CCC Digital Key™ specification and CCC Digital Key™ Certification Program, building its presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, and growing its industry footprint through participation in several events. This momentum enables the CCC to continue to pursue its vision of defining how vehicles interact with devices and the world to improve the consumer experience.
“We hear over and over that consumers still have concerns when it comes to the connected features in their vehicles. This means there’s a significant opportunity to scale adoption if we can work with companies to address some of the biggest pain points for consumers, like ease of use and trust in the technology,” said John Sergakis, Chairperson of the CCC’s Board of Directors. “We’ve worked in lockstep with our membership to address these barriers, and I’m immensely proud of our progress this year.”
Some of the CCC’s key milestones this year include:
- Surpassed 300-Member Milestone: The CCC’s membership is comprised of many of the world’s leading automakers, device manufacturers, and technology companies. The organization recently surpassed the 300-member milestone, expanding its ability to develop global industry-leading solutions that benefit consumers.
- Strengthened the CCC Digital Key™ Certification Program: Following the program’s rollout in late 2023, the CCC designated the first two digital key products as CCC Digital Key™ Certified in July. The current certification covers the near-field communication (NFC) element of digital key implementations, which allows users to tap to lock, unlock, or start their cars. The certification will expand in Q1 of 2025 to include Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which enables remote lock and unlock and other remote keyless entry features, and ultra-wideband (UWB), which provides fine ranging for passive lock and unlock features and detects when a phone is inside the vehicle for passive start.
- Increased Global Reach and Presence in APAC: As a part of its efforts to advance vehicle connectivity and address consumer concerns surrounding technology, the CCC has worked to grow its presence in key hubs for automotive innovation around the world, including the APAC region. The CCC recently named Zoe Fan as its new APAC Director to enable more collaboration with the leading automotive manufacturers, device manufacturers, and technology companies based in the area to better understand their specific market needs.
- Expanded Industry Footprint and Event Participation: The CCC Digital Key™ specification is the only universal interoperability standard for digital keys available globally. Over the last several months, CCC representatives spoke at several industry events to advocate for the role a universal standard plays in increasing digital key adoption and trust among consumers, including MOVE America, Tech G, and Mobile World Congress Las Vegas, where the organization showcased the CCC Digital Key™ in action with a BMW iX production vehicle. CCC President Alysia Johnson was also recently named a speaker at SXSW 2025 and will discuss why industry standards are a critical part of shaping our connected vehicle future.
- Held Plugfest in San Jose, CA, hosted by Google: The CCC gathered in October alongside major device makers, automotive manufacturers, and technology companies to further CCC Digital Key™ interoperability testing at a Plugfest hosted by Google, one of the CCC’s charter members. The event had a strong focus on UWB and BLE, which are essential to realizing the full potential of the CCC Digital Key™ specification. The next Plugfest will be held in Munich, Germany in March.
“Standards bodies, like the CCC, are imperative to driving progress because we’re able to encourage collaboration among all players in the ecosystem, and that’s at the heart of interoperability,” said Ian Televik, Director of Marketing at the CCC, during a panel discussion at MOVE America. “The future of automotive connectivity depends on our ability to make devices and vehicles work together seamlessly for consumers, regardless of make or model. We’re confident in our membership’s ability to make this a reality, and we look forward to the work ahead.”
For more information on the CCC, please visit www.carconnectivity.org.
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About the Car Connectivity Consortium:
The Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC) is a cross-industry organization advancing technologies for smartphone-to-car connectivity solutions. The CCC represents a large portion of the global automotive and smartphone industries, with more than 300 member companies. The CCC member companies include smartphone and vehicle manufacturers, automotive tier-1 suppliers, silicon/chip vendors, security product suppliers, and more. Its Board of Directors includes individuals from charter member companies Apple, BMW, CARIAD, DENSO, Ford, General Motors, Google, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, NXP, Panasonic, Samsung, Thales, and Xiaomi. For more information, visit www.carconnectivity.org.
