Ordering online can save you money, but what if you can't be at home when the package is due to arrive? You could fit your door with a special lock that allows access to delivery folks, or perhaps allow them access to your car's trunk. Daimler's Lab 1886 has successfully completed a pilot in Stuttgart where packages are delivered to parked cars, and is now rolling out the service in Berlin from today.
Named chark, the in-car delivery pilot in the Stuttgart area successfully completed more than a thousand deliveries direct to the trunks of vehicles compatible with the Mercedes me connect iOS app. This essentially means passenger cars from the 2015 model onwards.
Daimler says that an online shopper can use the service even if the vehicle is leased or a company car, and orders can be placed with any online store. During the ordering process, the buyer indicates that the parcel is to be delivered via the chark system and enters the address of the hub, followed by a user ID.
A delivery window can be entered and the location where the vehicle is parked. The delivery service is provided with a digital key that locks and unlocks the vehicle once (the car cannot be moved using this code), and the parcel left in the vehicle. The shopper is notified when the delivery is en route and again when completed, this time with photos.
And now the service is available for Mercedes drivers in Germany's capital – from Reinickendorf over Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Köpenick to Pankow. There is a catch though. Drivers in Berlin will need to apply to be part of the pilot, and there are only 250 slots available. But the Lab 1886 incubator plans to expand the service trials to other German cities in the future.
Source: Daimler