Ford and Hermes to let delivery drivers leave parcels in people's cars

Ford owners can now opt to have their parcel delivered to their car boot, thanks to a partnership between the car maker and delivery service Hermes.

As part of a pilot, UK Ford owners can get delivery drivers to leave parcels in the boot of their vehicle if it’s located at their home address, as a safe space location. 

The option is suited for those who aren’t at home to collect their parcel, or are at home but are too busy to answer the door.

In a car boot, parcels are ‘safe and dry and can be picked up at your convenience’, Ford claims, rather than left out on a porch where they could be rained on or stolen. 

‘Delivery-to-vehicle’ speeds up deliveries by saving drivers from having to knock on doors, climb stairs or find a neighbour to take the parcel when the recipient isn’t home, Ford claims.   

However, it also gives delivery staff access to a person’s car boot. This could put customers off if there are valuables already in there, especially if their car is on a busy street outside their home. 

The delivery-to-vehicle option is much like the one offered by Volkswagen and Hermes last year. It’s launched in parts of Essex for now, but it could soon expand to London and other surrounding areas, according to Ford and Hermes.  

To ensure vehicles remain secure, the delivery driver is the only person who can get to the vehicle’s boot – and they can only do so using the one-time token that’s displayed to them on the Hermes app.

‘Together with Hermes, we are looking at more secure and efficient ways to deliver parcels, to match the increasing demands coming from online purchases,’ said Mark Harvey, director for enterprise connectivity at Ford of Europe. 

‘Turning the vehicle into a delivery point is extremely convenient for the customer. 

‘It puts them in control, to ensure their parcel is where they want it when they want it.’

The delivery-to-vehicle option is now offered to customers with the free-to-use FordPass app (which lets Ford drivers unlock and even start a car engine with their smartphone) and a connected vehicle (one with a FordPass Connect modem).

When shopping with ‘selected retailers’ including ASOS, Misguided, Boohoo and H&M, those taking part in the pilot will have ‘delivery-to-vehicle’ as the standard option for delivery and provide details of the vehicle’s location. 

Customers will also be able to opt for a traditional home delivery, if so desired. 

Once the delivery driver is within 300 metres (980 feet) of the car, the exact location of the customer’s vehicle is displayed on the Hermes app for the driver to see. 

Within 50 metres (160 feet), the delivery driver scans the barcode on the customer’s parcel to create a one-time unlock token for the vehicle. This lets the driver unlock the boot to allow the courier to securely deposit the customer’s package. 

For added security, if the delivery driver fails to lock the vehicle after making the delivery, the vehicle locks automatically within a time period automatically set by Ford. For ‘security reasons’, the firm wouldn’t reveal to MailOnline how long this is.

Locating the vehicle and remote unlocking/locking is enabled through permissions granted by the recipient via the FordPass app.

If the vehicle is not within 300 metres of the selected delivery-to-vehicle address, the parcel is delivered to the recipient’s home address. This also applies to parcels that are too big to fit in the boot. 

The service is currently not available for multi-storey car parks or gated parking areas, Ford said. 

Delivery-to-vehicle also suits people who are returning to working in the office after working from home during the Covid lockdown, the car maker claims. 

‘As many of us start to return to our workplaces, we may find ourselves missing crucial package deliveries again,’ it said in a statement. 

‘Even those who are still at home may prefer not to interrupt a conference call to answer the door.’ 

As the pilot expands, Ford and Hermes hope to increase the number of participants and ‘broaden the project’s scope’, such as by offering ‘returns’ from the vehicle and enabling vehicle deliveries at other locations, like a customer’s work address.

‘We’re committed to exploring innovative delivery methods that provide maximum convenience for our end user customers and we’ve been excited to start this trial as we see big potential,’ said Lynsey Aston, head of product, innovation and onboarding at Hermes. 

‘This new delivery option sits alongside existing choices such as delivery to home, another address, office or to a Hermes ParcelShop or Locker whilst supporting our ongoing Covid safe contactless deliveries.’

Ford and Hermes are working together to improve deliveries in other ways – they’re piloting smart software that coordinates pedestrian couriers alongside traditional delivery vans to help make city parcel deliveries ‘more timely and sustainable’. 

They have also launched a new ‘self-driving vehicle research programme’ designed to help businesses in Europe understand how autonomous vehicles can benefit their operations, using a specially adapted Ford Transit van. 

Ford is currently working on launching its self-driving business next year after setbacks from the Covid pandemic. 

The autonomous vehicles will be based on the Ford Escape Hybrid crossover and developed in partnership with Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based start-up.