Order your parcel straight into your car

Almost everyone has experienced the frustrating situation when a postman or courier tries to deliver the package with the goods you ordered when you’re not at home. The new Car Access service has a solution: your parcels will be waiting for you in your car.

26. 8. 2021 Škoda World INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

The idea is simple: a parked car can serve as a safe and clearly identifiable mailbox. The implementation is a bit more complicated, but the solution’s simplicity is its greatest strength. That’s exactly what the Car Access service will be.

The idea was born in 2017 as part of an internal company event. The first practical tests took place in 2019 with the involvement of volunteers and selected partners. Following a successful trial at the beginning of 2021, the service is now being launched in a pilot phase in Prague. The pilot phase is expected to be successfully completed by the end of the year. Afterwards, this will be followed by its launch in other cities in the Czech Republic and international markets.

“Thanks to Car Access, ŠKODA customers can now use their vehicle in a smart way even while it’s parked. Our new service now enables couriers to deliver online orders directly to vehicles. Car Access thus creates real added value for our customers, making their everyday lives easier. At the same time, the new service does not compromise on security: Only authorised couriers from the respective logistics partners have the necessary access data,” says Martin Jahn, member of the ŠKODA board of directors for sales and marketing.

Practical simplicity

In practice, everything works really simply. In order to use the service, customers must be registered with ŠKODA Connect. They then activate the “Car Access” function in the MyŠKODA app and then add their chosen delivery partner. The ordering process differs from partner to partner.

With Alza.cz, customers first need to link their ŠKODA Connect account to their Alza.cz customer account. They then place an order and select ‘delivery to car’ as the delivery method. No linking of customer accounts is required for Zásilkovna. "When placing orders, the customer must first order the goods to their home address. Next, they receive an email from the logistics partner, where they can redirect the shipment to their vehicle. Zásilkovna also delivers orders from the ŠKODA e-shop using this option," explains Mirko Langnickel. With DoDo, customers choose whether the goods are to be delivered to their car each time they place an order.

The courier unlocks the car from his app and places the parcel in the trunk.

On the delivery day, the customer must park within an available radius at the address they entered when ordering the service. The car must be parked in a public and easily accessible location. “Couriers often can’t get into garages, there is no GPS signal and often no mobile network signal. At the same time, it should be a public and freely accessible parking space, so not behind a gate or at an airport, for example,” Langnickel adds.

The delivery itself is simple: the courier locates the car using GPS and stops nearby. From his app, he unlocks the car and places the parcel in its boot. He then closes the boot, locks the car again from his app and the delivery is complete.

Check out how the Car Access service works

Potential for the future

Thanks to the simplicity of the delivery process, the Car Access service has the potential to expand rapidly, both in terms of the markets served and the types of services offered. The ranks of existing partners in the Czech Republic should be widened by other firms, with logical options including food delivery services, laundries and dry cleaners, or even more complex services such as car washing with pick-up and drop-off.