Car Keys Express

Car Keys Express: automotive key replacement for businesses and consumers

Car Keys Express is a company founded in 2002 by Mark Lanwehr in Louisville, Kentucky, that presents itself as a global leader in discount automotive key replacement. The company serves both end consumers and commercial operations, including dealerships, automotive auctions, car rental agencies, fleets, and retailers. Its proposition focuses on offering replacement keys, remotes, and replacement solutions at a lower cost than traditional dealerships.

Origin and evolution

The company's history begins in 2002, when its founder and CEO, Mark Lanwehr, started operations from his apartment in Louisville under the name iKeyless.com, the first website to offer replacement automotive keys and remotes. In 2008, with a dozen employees, the company acquired a used van to test services for fleets and dealerships, and began operating as Fleet Keys. A year later it completed its rebranding to Car Keys Express and launched a research and development division that would become, according to the company itself, the world's most advanced automotive key reverse engineering team. In 2011 it began manufacturing its own aftermarket keys, which led to the purchase of its first office building in downtown Louisville. In 2013 it reached 100 employees and in 2015, 200.

Products and solutions for consumers

The company offers consumers the ability to buy keys online, as well as on-site mobile replacement services and in-house replacement. Its products include universal keys and remotes, universal smart keys, the Simple Key product, and key cutting and cloning solutions. It also markets SnapKey, an optical key scanner for retailers, and the Keys NOW! program. The company presents itself as the creator of the first universal car remote and the first universal car keys, and claims to be the only company that manufactures a full line of aftermarket versions of modern keys, such as remote keys and smart keys.

Services for automotive operations and retailers

For the B2B sector, Car Keys Express offers operational support to dealerships, auctions, rental agencies, and fleets. It also has retail solutions that allow stores to create or enhance a key replacement program, with simplified tools, universal keys, comprehensive training, and field support through the CKE NOW! program. The company also markets an affiliate program and a referral program for retailers.

Vehicle reconditioning

Through its Car Care Express division, the company offers mobile vehicle reconditioning services for businesses and consumers. These services include paintless dent repair, paint touch-up, headlight restoration, and repairs to wheels, windshields, and interiors. They are available to dealerships, rental agencies, automotive auctions, consumers, and other clients.

Presence and awards

Car Keys Express serves more than 3,000 cities in the United States and Canada, and has expanded its mobile services to seven Canadian cities. The company has received numerous awards, including the Inc. 5000 award on multiple occasions (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2025, and 2026), the AAPEX Best New Product award in 2015, 2019, and 2023, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2017, and EnterpriseCorp's FAST Innovation Award in 2017. It has also been recognized by Louisville Business First and received the Inc. Best in Business award in 2024.

Partnerships and expansion

In 2015, the company secured an exclusive key partnership with Enterprise Car Rental in Southern California. In 2017 it launched a partnership with Hertz Global. That same year it launched CKE NOW!™, a turn-key program for retailers. In 2018 it acquired an Indiana-based mobile vehicle reconditioning company and launched Simple Key, a line of do-it-yourself products for replacing modern keys.