Ford's connected cars now link with Amazon Key for in-car delivery
Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that it's bringing Amazon Key's in-car delivery service to its lineup of connected vehicles. The automaker said select Ford and Lincoln vehicles from 2017 onward will have the ability to link up to Amazon Key through the FordPass Connect and Lincoln Connect connected car cloud services.
For the service to work, eligible car owners have to download the FordPass or Lincoln Way app, create an account, and activate the car for in-car delivery. An Amazon Prime account must also sync up to the FordPass or Lincoln Way account.
From there, the process operates along the same lines as the rest of Amazon's Key delivery options, which were first launched in October 2017 as a way for shoppers to securely accept packages inside their homes. The keyless entry service has since expanded beyond the front door to the car trunk, garage door and business.
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As for Ford, the automaker is touting the Amazon Key integration as the first of many connected car services that are in the works.
"Key In-Car delivery is just the first wave of what's possible," Ford wrote in Medium post. "Through our Ford connected vehicle services, other businesses are able to integrate their apps with Ford and Lincoln connected vehicles. This will allow us to deliver additional new services to our customers' vehicles that improve their daily lives."
Like other automakers, Ford is transforming itself from traditional manufacturer to vehicle connectivity, mobility, and retooling in the smart vehicle industry. The company is actively developing digital services and platforms to keep up with the growing app ecosystems in cars. To counter Google and Apple, Ford in 2013 open sourced its own AppLink software to create an industry-wide technology platform called SmartDeviceLink. Last week, Ford inked a multi-year agreement with Amazon Web Services aimed at expanding the availability of its cloud connectivity and connected car app-dev services.
Ford has also made significant investments in its autonomous vehicle efforts and partnered with a range of tech providers including Baidu and Argo AI.