General Motors Co.’s shop-and-drive Marketplace app is releasing a new feature in Chevrolet vehicles, providing Chevy consumers the first in-car fuel payment function in a partnership with Shell gas stations.
The in-car fuel payment function will be added to the Shell widget that already features a station locator and is available on the Marketplace app. Now, after Chevy drivers have chosen their favorite Shell location, they can conveniently select a pump and start fueling directly from the car. A transaction is automatically initiated by using a payment method that has been saved in advance.
“We introduced Marketplace to deliver value, productivity and convenience to our customers,” Rick Ruskin, Chevrolet’s senior manager of online commerce, said in a statement. “Bringing the Shell Pay & Save functionality right on the touch screen of our vehicles is the latest advancement of this platform, allowing drivers to simply access fuel rewards perks, activate a fuel pump and pay for gas while inside their car.”
The Marketplace app is a recent addition to GM infotainment systems that gives drivers the ability to order beverages and snacks and even make a restaurant reservations from the car. This service was released via over-the-air updates end of last year in model-year 2017 or newer vehicles with compatible infotainment systems.
As of today, the new in-car fueling functionality is only available on Chevrolet vehicles, while the Marketplace app is available on all Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac that are 2017 or newer. However, the in-car fueling functionality is expected to be released to other GM brands (~4 million vehicles) later 2018.
The in-car payment functionality is currently only available in Detroit, Seattle and Houston, but a nation-wide release at all 14,000 Shell stations is planned in the summer.
GM’s vice president of global connected customer experience, Santiago Chamorro, commented at the December release of Marketplace that the in-car app will focus on safety as a safer alternative to using the phone while driving, though Marketplace does not offer voice-command capability at this time.
“Being the first to deliver this type of in-dash fuel payment and savings to our customers is very exciting,” Sydney Kimball, Shell’s vice president of fuel sales and marketing Americas, said in a statement.
“At Shell we are constantly working to develop better products and services for our customers, and we are always evolving according to their transforming needs and expectations around convenience, quality, digitalization and service. We’re thrilled to be working with Chevrolet to make this a reality.”
