Jaguar Land Rover To Reward Drivers With Crypto

Jaguar Land Rover, the U.K. vehicle maker, announced Monday (April 29) that drivers will be able to earn cryptocurrency and make payments in-vehicle using car services the company is currently testing.

In a press release, Jaguar Land Rover said using smart wallet technology car owners earn credits by enabling their cars to report useful road condition data, including traffic congestion and potholes, to navigation providers and/or local authorities. Drivers can redeem the rewards for coffee or to automatically pay in-vehicle for tolls, parking fees and smart charging of electric vehicles. The smart wallet technology uses the latest cryptocurrency technology, Jaguar Land Rover said in the press release. It noted that it has partnered with the IOTA Foundation to use distributed ledger technology to make and receive the payments. Jaguar Land Rover said the system, which has no fees, should get faster over time, with it forecasted to include some 75 billion connected devices by 2025. Drivers will be able to add money to the Smart Wallet via traditional payment methods as well. The feature is currently being tested at the new Jaguar Land Rover software engineering base in Shannon, Republic of Ireland where several vehicles have been equipped with the technology including the Jaguar F-PACE and the Range Rover Velar.

“Our Shannon software development center is advancing the use of cryptocurrency to make people’s lives better, by allowing drivers to safely share data and make payments from their vehicle,” said Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering at Jaguar Land Rover. “Working with our engineering hub in the U.K., the team in Shannon is pioneering and testing these sophisticated connected technologies that will help people to make the most of the time they spend in their car.”

Engineers at the Shannon R&D facility are in the process of developing new technology to support electrification and self-driving features for future Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, the company said in the press release. The facility is supported by the Irish Development Agency.