iPhone owners who drive one of these 13 car brands are about to get a brand new feature
Published on Jul 29, 2025 at 9:03 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 29, 2025 at 11:49 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Apple iPhone owners who drive one of these 13 car brands, which include Chevrolet, GMC, and Lucid, are about to get a new feature dropping into their Apple Wallet.
The feature is already available on several makes and models, including BMW, Audi, and Hyundai.
Now, even more folks are set to be able to make use of the handy feature.
And if you’ve ever struggled to find your keys, then it could be an absolute game-changer.
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Which car brands are getting the new Apple iPhone feature?
Back in 2020, Apple announced it was launching digital car keys that would allow iPhone users to open their cars without the need for a physical key.
Apple Car Keys works using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to turn your iPhone into a secure way of unlocking and starting your vehicle.
When it was initially launched, it was exclusively available on BMW vehicles, but later introduced on several others, including Kia and Audi, albeit only for the A6 Avant e-tron.
Now, 13 more marques are set to get the useful feature, bringing the total number of brands using Car Key to 33.
The new brands are: Acura, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chery, GMC, Hongqi, Lucid Motors, Porsche, Rivian, Smart, Tata Motors, Voyah, and WEY.
As well as the Apple iPhone, the new feature also works on Apple Watches.
How it works varies by manufacturer, but it will either be:
- Passive entry, which unlocks your door as you approach your car, starts it once inside, and locks it again when you walk away.
- Proximity, which will lock, unlock, and start your car by holding your iPhone close to the handle or key reader.
- Remotely, which means you can use your device remotely to lock and unlock your car, and use other features
Alongside your compatible car, you’ll also need to have an iPhone XS or later, or iPhone SE (2nd generation), with the latest version of iOS, or Apple Watch Series 5 or later, or Apple Watch SE, with the latest version of watchOS.
As yet, Apple hasn’t given a launch date for the new additions, but it was announced during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) when iOS 26 was unveiled.
Troubles for Apple CarPlay Ultra
While more carmakers are signing up for the Apple Car Key feature, the same can’t be said for Apple CarPlay Ultra.
When Apple announced the next-generation CarPlay, the tech giant said it would bring the ‘best of iPhone and the best of the car together for a deeply integrated experience’.
It was exclusively launched in Aston Martin vehicles with Apple saying more marques were to follow.
However, just a few months on, it seems that many carmakers aren’t interested in joining.
Several brands, like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo, and Polestar, have all said they will be sticking with the original Apple CarPlay.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
