5 heavyweights in automobile manufacturing – BMW, General Motors, Ford, Renault and Honda – will be testing a new blockchain-based feature for car identification and payment system in the US. 

Reported by Nikkei Asian Review on October 14, the collaboration specifically looks to put the vehicle ID system through the testing phase, built as part of the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative. 

Particularly, cars will be linked with a digital ID that helps identify the owner, as well as service history and a wallet, granting the vehicle the power to process fees, without specialized hardware.

The partnership aims to implement the new feature to electric vehicles, so that fees for tolls, maintenance and rest stop purchases can be processed automatically, whenever the vehicle is charging. 

Back in September, Mercedes-Benz parent firm Daimler AG and mechanical engineering company Dürr AG, have initiated a pilot transaction on the Marco Polo trade finance system, developed by blockchain startup R3.