Audi Brings New Meaning To ‘home Delivery’ Helped By DHL And Amazon

Using keyless access technology innovative 'Audi connect easy delivery' service enables parcel deliveries to be made directly to the boot of a car

• Development partnership for innovative logistics service
• Parcel deliveries to the boot using keyless access technologies
• Pilot project to start in May

Audi wants to put an end to the package tour – in a bid to eradicate the age-old problem of parcels being returned to the depot, left with a neighbour or earmarked for re-delivery when a designated recipient is out, the Vorsprung durch Technik brand has worked with its partners DHL Parcel and Amazon Prime to develop a system that enables delivery direct to the boot of a customer's Audi.

'Audi connect easy delivery', a pilot project starting in May, will allow participants to use the service for the first time. Audi connecteasy delivery will operate through temporary authorisation for keyless access to the car's luggage compartment.

"With comprehensive connectivity, we are transforming the car into a service device and integrating it even more closely into the everyday lives ofour customers," says Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management for Sales at AUDI AG. "Audi connect easy delivery helps save time and offers more convenience and flexibility – advantages that are increasingly important for the target group of a premium brand."

In the future, the new service is to provide customers with the option ofentering their Audi as the shipping address for online orders. DHL Parcel is providing the dispatching service in the pilot project. Development partner Amazon is the firstonline retailer to offercustomers delivery directly to their car's boot.

Prof.Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG, emphasisesthe high security standards of the development project:"As with all ofour connect services, the security ofthe car and ofcustomer data has top priority for Audi. For us, Vorsprung durch Technik also means Audi customers should be able to use these kinds ofinnovative services with peace of mind and therefore enjoy true added value."

If the Audi owner agrees to the tracking of their automobile for the specific delivery time frame, the DHL driver handling the parcel receives a digital access code for the boot of the customer's vehicle. It can be used one time only for a specificperiod of time and expires as soon as the luggage compartment has been closed again. Similarly, Audi connect easy delivery customers will also be able to send letters and parcels from their own car in the future.

With this logistics service, customers will enjoy even more flexibility in controlling the delivery of their orders. In addition to this extra convenience, the service promotes efficiencyas it avoids unsuccessful attempts to hand over goods tocustomers at the specified address and therefore reduces the amount of traffic on the roads.

AUDI AG will test Audi connect easy delivery together with DHL Parcel and Amazon under real conditions in a pilot project which is to start in May in Munich, Germany.

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Picture caption

Don't return to sender – Audi has worked with its partners DHLParceland Amazon Prime todevelopa system that enables delivery of packages directlyto the boot of a customer's Audi using one-time keyless access technology.

Note to Editors

In 2014 Audi achieved best ever worldwide sales of 1,741,100 cars, a 10.5 per cent improvement over 2013. Sales in the UK increased by 11.8 per cent year-on-year to 158,987 cars. To maintain this strong performance the brand plans to invest around €24 billion between now and 2019, 70 per cent of which will be channelled into new model development and innovative technologies. Audi lives up to its corporate responsibility and has strategically established the principle of sustainability for its products and processes. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility. This philosophy also applies to the brand's sports car racing activities, in which Audi made history in 2012 by winning the Le Mans 24-hour race using pioneering hybrid diesel technology in the R18 e-tron quattro. It went on to repeat the performance in the 2013 and 2014 races, taking the total number of Audi victories there to 13.

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