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Amazon already has a service where they deliver packages to your home. You purchase an Amazon Key Smart Lock, then your deliveries can be safely secured in your home. However, that means a stranger comes into your home, possibly checking out your underwear drawer, using your bathroom, or eating your Chinese food leftovers. Now Amazon can deliver your packages right to the trunk of your car and keep your food and toilet safe.
Amazon’s new in-car delivery service kicks off in 37 cities around the U.S. today. As part of the Amazon Key program, the new service will drop off your packages to the trunk of your car to avoid having your orders stolen by porch pirates. But there are some requirements.
You’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member. You’ll need to have a relatively new vehicle, most 2015 models and newer will work. At launch, the delivery service will work with Volvo and General Motors vehicles, which includes over 7 million cars and trucks from Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. More auto manufacturers will be added over time.
Here’s how the in-car delivery system works. The Amazon delivery person does not actually have a physical key to open your car whenever they want. You order your product through Amazon Key and then they inform you when the package is on its way. Then you provide a delivery location for the estimated time of delivery. You can always cancel or alter the delivery and location through the Key app. Users will receive a 4-hour delivery window.
Amazon’s delivery people will have your car’s GPS location, license plate number, and a photo of the vehicle. Once the courier finds the vehicle, they scan the package, and the vehicle’s connected service such as OnStar or Volvo on Call then unlocks the car for the package to be delivered safely inside the trunk. The delivery person has no access to your car’s login passwords or data. Your car must be parked within a two-block range of a delivery address.
“Note that she doesn’t have a special key or direct access to the car,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Verge during a demonstration. “It’s going up to the Amazon Key cloud, and it’s going over to the Chevrolet cloud, in this case, which is where the unlock command is issued. We only actually do the unlock if its the right person, right place, right car, right time. Got to pass all those checks.” The courier can not get the address of the next delivery until the current car is locked.
There are some restrictions as to the products you can receive. Packages that weigh over 50 pounds, are larger than 26 x 21 x 16 inches in size, ones that require a signature, are valued over $1,300, or come from a third-party seller also are not eligible for in-car delivery. So are you ready to have Amazon deliver your goodies to your car?
[TheVerge]
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