When I drove a Volvo EX30, one of the most frustrating features was the key card entry system. Instead of a traditional key fob, the EX30 uses a credit card-sized device to enter and start up. It was crazy.
Fortunately, the key card may soon be a thing of the past. According to Stephen Connor, managing director of Volvo Australia, customers simply don’t like the system – and it’s easy to understand why.
In an interview with the Australian outlet DrivingConnor revealed that the company is considering completely eliminating the key card, which is currently used in both the EX30 and EX30 models EX90. Instead, Volvo wants owners to use their smartphones. As Connor explains:
“Our plan is to try to get people to use the phone as a key.” That’s what we try to get people to do. I can then unlock the car from anywhere. The card is a backup plan.
Unfortunately, Volvo’s campaign to get owners to use their smartphones as keys isn’t going as planned either. According to Connor, the EX30 was originally aimed at customers aged 24 to 50, but in reality, most buyers are significantly older. “The number of people in their 50s to 80s are buying a car,” he says.
So does this mean Volvo might bring back the beloved key fob for the EX30 and EX90? This remains unclear, but we can at least dream.
