Apple's Car Key turns your iPhone into a digital car key, letting you unlock, start, and share your ride — no key fob required. Here's how it works, and which manufacturers support the technology.

Apple wants to make your iPhone the ultimate Swiss Army knife of devices. Since its humble introduction in 2007, the iPhone can be used to replace your credit cards at many point-of-sales, your driver's license or state ID in many states, your shoppers club cards, and even your home keys.

But Apple wasn't satisfied with stopping there. It also wants to replace your physical car key.

While Apple has not given the feature an official name, most sources refer to it as "Car Key" for simplicity. We'll be continuing the trend.

Launch

The Apple CarPlay Car Key feature was first announced on June 22, 2020, as part of Apple's WWDC 2020 presentation. It was part of Apple's greater CarPlay announcement.

Even though the event focused primarily on features to be added in iOS 14, Car Key would be made available for iOS 13.4 and onwards.

Apple said that it had worked hand-in-hand with car connectivity standards groups. This meant that the company would be able to utilize the iPhone's U1 ultra-wide chip, allowing customers to use the feature even if their phone was in their bag or pocket.

Initially, BMW was the only manufacturer that supported Car Keys, and only on the 2021 BMW 5 Series. Rollouts would be slow, with only a handful of manufacturers supporting the feature on select models in 2025.

At WWDC 2025, Apple offered a small update on Car Key. It announced that 13 additional brands, including Cadillac, Porsche, Smart, and others, would be added.

Features

Currently, Car Key can be used in place of a key fob. It allows you to lock, unlock, and start your car via the iPhone's built in NFC chip.

Keys are stored within the Apple Wallet app. Once added, your Car Key will be added to an "express mode," allowing you to use the feature without Face ID or a passcode.

Apple says that Car Key can work for up to five hours after your iPhone runs out of battery. This is notably shorter than the 24 hours that users get with Find My after their iPhone dies.

The primary benefit of Car Key isn't that it replaces your key fob — most key fobs are proximity-based and will work even when in your pocket. The actual selling point is the fact that you can remotely share copies of your key with other iPhone users.

Car Key sharing is a useful feature that avoids a trip to a key maker.

Car Key sharing is a useful feature that avoids a trip to a key maker.

Keys can be generated and shared across iMessage. A major advantage of sharing digital keys is that they can easily be activated — or deactivated — remotely if needed.

This is a great way to temporarily share a key with a friend or family member. It also gives users a convenient way to deactivate all keys via iCloud should their iPhone go missing or be stolen.

At WWDC, Apple announced that Car Key would give key holders the ability to set limitations. This included setting a maximum speed, which it touted as a good option for teens.

However, for whatever reason, these features never materialized. Instead, users are still limited to locking, unlocking, and starting their vehicles via Car Key.

Supported models

Below are the brands and models of vehicles that currently support Car Keys

Audi

  • 2025 A5
  • 2025 Q5
  • 2025 SQ5
  • 2025 A6
  • 2025 S6
  • 2025 Q6
  • 2025 SQ6

BMW

  • 2021 - 2024 1 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 2 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 3 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 4 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 5 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 6 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 8 Series
  • 2021 - 2024 X5
  • 2021 - 2024 X6
  • 2021 - 2024 X7
  • 2021 - 2024 X5 M
  • 2021 - 2024 X6 M
  • 2021 - 2024 Z4
  • 2022 - 2024 i4
  • 2022 - 2024 iX
  • 2022 - 2024 iX1
  • 2022 - 2024 iX3
  • 2023 i3
  • 2023 - 2024 i7
  • 2024 i5
Close-up of a blue car's side mirror with an orange indicator light on, and a person holding a smartphone nearby.

The 2021 BMW 5 Series was the first car model to support Car Key

Genesis

  • 2023 - 2024 GV60
  • 2023 - 2024 G90
  • 2024 G70

Hyundai

  • 2023 - 2024 Palisade
  • 2023 - 2024 IONIQ 6

Kia

  • 2023 - 2024 Telluride
  • 2023 - 2024 Niro
  • 2024 Seltos
  • 2024 EV9

Lotus

  • 2024 Eletre
  • 2024 Emeya

Mercedes-Benz

  • 2024 EClass

Mini

  • 2024 Aceman
  • 2024 Cooper (3-door) C / S
  • 2023 Cooper (3-door) E / SE
  • 2024 Cooper (5-door)
  • 2023 Countryman

PoleStar

  • Polestar 3 (all models)
  • Polestar 4 (all models)

Ram

  • 2025 RAM 1500

Volvo

  • 2024 EX30
  • 2024 EX90