This November, the world’s leading automakers and tech giants meet in Friedrichshafen, Germany, to shape the future of mobility. From 10th to 15th November, the CCC Plugfest will bring together top car manufacturers, smartphone companies like Apple, Samsung and Google, and innovative system providers to advance the Digital Key standard. The event will be hosted by the German mid-sized company doubleSlash, the first backend and software provider to take on this central role for the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC).
Connected Ecosystems for Tomorrow’s Mobility
The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) is a global alliance of automakers (OEMs), device manufacturers, and backend providers, united to establish the Digital Key as a worldwide standard. Replacing traditional car keys, the Digital Key allows secure access and start functions via smartphone or smartwatch. CCC’s mission is to overcome market fragmentation and establish a unified, future-ready standard for digital vehicle access.
The Digital Key also enables future-oriented mobility models such as subscription services, car sharing, and on-demand usage. For end customers, it ensures a seamless and personalized vehicle experience. For mobility providers, it offers powerful features such as speed restrictions for young drivers or geo-fencing for specific user groups. Automakers benefit from simplified fleet integration, faster development cycles, and new digital service opportunities.
Backend at the Heart of the Digital Key: doubleSlash Drives Innovation
doubleSlash, host of this year’s CCC Plugfest, plays a pivotal role in the evolution of the Digital Key. Based in Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance, the mid-sized software company provides a hardware- and cloud-independent backend platform, fully CCC-compliant.
Bridging two massive ecosystems, this product enables communication between vehicle and smartphone, and manages security, rights management, and key tracking. For vehicle manufacturers, this means efficient, secure, and reliable integration of their fleets with the Digital Key standard.
“The Digital Key is much more than a convenient feature. It represents the transformation of mobility – a new approach to data, digital business models, and deeper customer relationships. Being the world’s first backend provider to host the CCC Plugfest highlights the critical role of backend technology at the heart of the Digital Key,” emphasizes Konrad Krafft, Co-Founder and Managing Director at doubleSlash.
CCC Plugfest: Focus on Interoperability and Innovation
Standardization enables seamless integration and significantly shortens development cycles. This November, the CCC Plugfest will therefore focus on interoperability, new features, and emerging hardware standards such as Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Near Field Communication (NFC).
Automakers are going to test their setups on dedicated areas both indoors and outdoors. Meanwhile, smartphone manufacturers will be rotating between booths, validating their solutions directly with the provided vehicles. The goal of the Plugfest is to give OEMs and hardware manufacturers a real-world environment to test whether their solutions meet the CCC standard – ensuring both functionality and a seamless user experience.
The doubleSlash Software Innovation Center (SIZ) meets the highest standards of security and confidentiality, backed by ISO 27001 and TISAX certifications. This level of protection is essential, as the tests conducted are both sensitive and confidential.
Driving Innovation from Germany
The event in Friedrichshafen demonstrates how German digital expertise and collaborative partnerships are shaping the future of mobility. As a mid-sized software provider, doubleSlash stands at the heart of an international network, committed to innovation, responsibility, and technical excellence.
“The CCC Plugfest brings together the automotive and consumer electronics industries to future-proof vehicle access with smart devices. With participation from companies around the world, we are setting a global standard for secure, cross-platform mobility,” says a CCC spokesperson.
About doubleSlash
Since 1999, doubleSlash has been developing software solutions under the guiding principle “We create digital value” for medium-sized and internationally operating companies. With around 320 employees at locations in Friedrichshafen, Munich, and Stuttgart, the company achieved annual revenue of €35.3 million in 2024.
The focus lies in the business areas Connect, Make Smart, and Monetize: connecting devices and digital ecosystems, driving progress with data and AI innovations, automating and making better decisions, as well as enabling successful digital business models with monetizable products and services. As a software partner, doubleSlash thinks holistically from the data foundation to the business model in cross-cutting ecosystems – and develops intelligent, secure, and sustainable solutions.
About CCC:
The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) is a global industry consortium of more than 300 companies shaping the future of digital vehicle access. Founding members include Apple, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Google, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Samsung.
The CCC Digital Key enables consumers to use their smartphones securely and easily as vehicle keys. Instead of traditional car keys, drivers can unlock and start their vehicles via smartphone or smartwatch. The CCC develops unified standards that ensure this technology works across manufacturers.
The CCC Digital Key is already deployed in millions of vehicles worldwide and creates new opportunities for car sharing, vehicle rental, and flexible mobility solutions.
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