Ford and Toyota are making big steps forward in blockchain technology. In the second quarter of 2024, both companies filed a lot more patents than they did the previous quarter. They filed a total of 43 patents linked to blockchain, which made them stand out during a time when overall patent activity in the automotive sector was going down.
In the second quarter, Ford filed 14 patents, up from 3 in the first quarter. The company’s newest invention describes a way to use smart contracts and blockchain to keep track of who owns a car. The goal of this method is to make changes to a vehicle’s title safe and automatic, keeping a record of control that can’t be changed.
Toyota also stepped up its work with blockchain, filing 29 times more code in Q2 than in Q1 (25). Toyota recently got a license for a blockchain-based system for handling NFTs that have to do with cars. The goal of this new idea is to use blockchain technology to correctly track cars that are being stored, like those at showrooms.
Both businesses are focusing more on blockchain at a time when the development of technology for driverless cars seems to be running into problems. Even though there are high hopes, the tech community is still facing problems that have slowed down the general use of self-driving cars.
By moving forward with their blockchain projects, Ford and Toyota are setting themselves up to gain from safer and more efficient control and transactions of vehicles. This change in strategy could give them an edge in the rapidly changing world of car technology.
