Valeo and Orange Present an Innovative Concept for Easy Vehicle Sharing

News provided by

Oct 04, 2010, 02:58 ET

PARIS, October 4, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Valeo and Orange are proposing an innovative concept for sharing vehicles between several drivers, either between individuals or within a corporate fleet of vehicles.

This solution, based on NFC (Near Field Communication) no-contact technology, makes it possible to exchange data at very short distance using an NFC cellphone, but also from a web and mobile community application.

The vehicle sharing process is simple. On a dedicated site, community members reserve the period of time during which they wish to use the car. Once the owner has validated this period of time, they receive a temporary, non-transferable key on their cellphone, via the Orange platform.

All they then have to do is place their cellphone close to the car door, then the dashboard, both equipped by Valeo with NFC readers, in order to open and then start the vehicle.

This solution is designed for automakers and service providers in the automobile sector.

It is a totally secure solution enabling the lending or borrowing of a key at a distance, avoiding any risk of losing keys thanks to virtual key transfer, and controlling and restricting the use of keys. In addition, management of vehicle loaning from the car-sharing site is optimized, the cost of use and maintenance can be shared, and the fleet's carbon footprint is considerably reduced.

Valeo is an independent group, fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for the automobile industry, mainly for the reduction of CO2 emissions. It is one of the world's leading automotive suppliers. The Group has 117 plants, 21 research centers, 40 development centers and 10 distribution platforms and employs 56,000 people in 27 countries worldwide.

For more information about the Valeo Group and its activities, please visit our web site:

http://www.valeo.com.

SOURCE Valeo