DETROIT — Domino's Pizza will soon be at the fingertips of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles customers through their vehicle's Uconnect infotainment system.
FCA is jumping into the world of in-vehicle transactions in the second half of the year with Uconnect Market, which will enable users to order pizza, make restaurant reservations, pay for gasoline at select Shell stations and pay for parking at garages through the touch screen. Drivers also will be able to schedule service at FCA dealerships.
FCA said Uconnect Market was developed with Xevo, of Seattle, which was acquired by Lear Corp. in April. It will be installed through an over-the-air update for 2019 and 2020 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram models equipped with connected services and the latest-generation, 8.4-inch touch screens.
The system is scalable, so if other merchants want to join Uconnect Market, there will be room, said Mike Novak, Uconnect's product marketing manager. "We're open to exploration. We always want to reflect the needs of the customer. Food and fuel and parking are natural fits," Novak said. "Beyond that, we're not excluding anything, but we want to make sure it helps people be productive in their daily lives in terms of getting from point A to point B and still coming home with dinner for the family or fueling up at your particular station."
General Motors, which also partnered with Xevo, in late 2017 launched Marketplace, which is available in more than 2.5 million of its vehicles. GM customers can purchase fuel at about 14,000 Shell and ExxonMobil stations throughout the U.S., order food from Dunkin' or reserve a table at TGI Fridays. The platform also offers deals at restaurants and other merchants, including 7-Eleven.
Hyundai Motor America in 2018 said it was working with Xevo on an in-vehicle platform with partners including Applebee's and Chevron.
The Uconnect Market update follows FCA's April announcement of an in-vehicle "ecosystem" using Harman and Google. The system, FCA said, will manage in-vehicle and other data using the cloud-based platform Harman Ignite. FCA said Harman Ignite will help deliver an array of connected services to drivers.
Novak said FCA will focus on getting customers to try UConnect Market.
"When we launch, we're going to make sure they know how to use it, how to do the first setup as far as creating a wallet so you can make transactions and payments," he said. "Beyond that, to see what opportunities there are for co-marketing opportunities. If somebody isn't a Shell Fuel Rewards member, explaining to them how you could if you wanted to. If somebody hasn't purchased Domino's Pizza before, just giving them incentives to give it a try. We're looking for clever, fun marketing activities to entice people to use it."
