Amazon Key In-Car lets couriers leave packages in the trunk of your car
Last year, Amazon introduced Amazon Key, which would let couriers deliver packages right inside the front door of your home. Apparently that idea has been a solid one for Amazon, because the company has decided to expand it to include the trunk of your car.
Today Amazon is officially announcing Amazon Key In-Car, which will let couriers pop open the trunk of a GM- or Volvo-branded car and drop off a package inside. Unlike Amazon Key, though, Amazon Key In-Car doesn't require a camera be installed to watch the drop-off.
The Verge has a write-up of what the new service offers, including a brief demonstration of how it all works. Customers will need to add their vehicle to the Amazon Key app on their smartphone, including a description of the vehicle. Couriers, for their part, will already have a picture of the car, the license plate number, and the GPS location. The car must be parked within a certain radius of a confirmed Amazon delivery address, so home or work, and it can even be parked on the street or in a parking garage.
Amazon will send a series of notifications to customers, letting them stay up-to-date on where their package is, when it's out for delivery, when the courier is accessing the car, and finally, when the package has been delivered and the trunk of the vehicle has been closed. Users will also have the ability to "block access" to their vehicle at any time. If the delivery is missed, the courier will go to the back-up delivery option and drop off the package their.
Amazon plans on supporting more vehicles in the future, but for now, GM and Volvo are the only two brands supported. According to the report, these companies have inked a two-year deal, and each sees that time period as an extended trial. GM cars are supported because they offer OnStar while Volvo has its own similar service, Volvo On Call. This is how couriers are able to unlock the vehicle remotely and how it can be locked again after the package has been delivered.
Here is a quick video showing Amazon Key In-Car's first trial customers. Amazon has been hosting an extended trial period for some customers in California and the state of Washington. As expected, this service is only available for Amazon Prime customers.
One more thing to note: Packages that "weigh over 50 pounds, are larger than 26 x 21 x 16 inches in size, require a signature, are valued over $1,300, or come from a third-party seller" won't be eligible for the service, as noted in the original report.
What do you think of the idea? Is this something you'd sign up for?
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