DHL Parcel and car makers Smart have announced that they will be extending their joint pilot where owners of Smart cars can use their vehicles as mobile addresses for parcel drops. The project partners have worked in recent months to develop and test the solution to ensure high security standards for parcels and cars alike.

The market test has been run in Stuttgart. It is to be offered in Bonn, Berlin and Cologne. DHL and Smart are using several hundred car owners in each city to get feedback in near reality conditions. The cars need to be adapted for the job and Smart is paying to fit these to the vehicles, and additionally the participants have had to sign an agreement with DHL.

“As a leader of innovation in the parcel sector, with DHL Parcel we are pursuing the goal of developing new ideas to supplement our diverse range of solutions to make it easier to send and receive a parcel, and to personalize the process to meet customers’ needs,” said Jürgen Gerdes, CEO Post – eCommerce – Parcel at Deutsche Post DHL Group. “Having successfully tested car-trunk deliveries as part of a pilot in Germany, we are using the knowledge we have gained to work with Smart to develop a new and attractive service for a young, extremely online savvy target group.”

Smart CEO Annette Winkler agreed: “With the new service, we are expanding the ways in which our vehicles can be used to offer a broader mobility model that goes beyond the car itself. The pilot also kicks off our campaign to improve the quality of urban life.”
 
Subscribe to Newsletter