The automotive industry has seen plenty of changes in the past few years, and one of the most significant is the rise of electronic car keys.
Electronic car keys offer convenience and enhanced security features compared to traditional mechanical keys. Now, however, it seems that Toyota is taking a step back and reintroducing mechanical keys for some of their vehicles.
Let’s explore why this move makes sense, and why Toyota could be the ‘canary in the cage’ for similar moves by other leading car manufacturers in the coming year.
The Chip Shortage
The global semiconductor shortage has had a massive impact on the auto industry, with production lines being shut down due to a lack of supply. This is not just a problem for car manufacturers like Toyota, but also for suppliers of electronic components such as transponder microchips. To keep up with demand, many companies have had to resort to using older designs or less efficient parts in their vehicles.
A Temporary Move Or A Long-Term Strategy?
In October 2022, Toyota discovered that one of their two electronic key designs would need to be replaced by mechanical keys due to the global shortage of semiconductors needed to lock and unlock their cars remotely.
According to the company, the decision to shift away from electronic keys and switch back to mechanical ones is a strictly temporary solution until global chip production can catch up with demand. This means that all 2023 models from Toyota will have mechanical keys instead of electronic ones. Toyota is, however, planning to provide car owners with a second electronic key as soon as it’s available, although no timeframe has been given.
Benefits Of Mechanical ‘Basic’ Car Keys
Toyota’s move back to mechanical keys isn’t so much about cost savings as it is about reliability and convenience. While electronic key technology and keyless smartphone access offer enhanced security and convenience (and is the long-term future of the industry, let’s make no mistake), it can also be unreliable in certain situations—like if you forget your key fob at home or if your phone battery dies while you’re out on the road.
With a traditional mechanical key, these issues don’t exist; you just need to have a physical copy of the key on hand to unlock your vehicle. This provides peace of mind for owners who are concerned about being stranded without access to their cars. There are also other benefits associated with using mechanical keys like lower costs for locksmith services when losing a set of car keys or needing replacement car keys due to wear and tear over time.
What This Means For Automotive Locksmiths
What this change means for automotive locksmiths is that the mechanical key-cutting skills they learned at college are still relevant, and could even become more so, instead of less, throughout 2023. This doesn’t mean that digital and electronic technologies are any less important, but that a locksmith who also offers a traditional key-cutting service may be in a stronger position to win customers from Toyota drivers looking for replacements or spare keys – in an industry in which traditional skills have declined in recent years – than someone who has transitioned entirely to digital programming.
Next Steps
Advanced Keys provides basic car keys, emergency blades, car key replacement, remote cases, transponders, and much more for various vehicle manufacturers including Toyota. Please contact us today to find out more about our services for automotive locksmiths.