Honda wants to build extra storage space into EV bumpers for deliveries.
A patent application submitted by the automaker to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on July 13, 2023, and published on Feb. 1, 2024, details a slide-out drawer for packages, turning cars into mailboxes on wheels.
Honda rear bumper storage patent image
This hidden storage compartment is designed for a possible future in which vehicles can be designated as delivery locations, something Volvo tested in Sweden in 2015. At the time, Volvo pitched in-car delivery as a way for customers to receive important packages even if they aren't home during business hours to sign for them.
Leaving a package in the trunk of a car is a bit more secure than leaving it on a stoop or porch, but, as Honda notes in the patent application, the tradeoff is that a third party gets access to a car's interior. The in-bumper storage compartment provides a secure place to leave a package while keeping the rest of the car off-limits. It's designed to be locked and unlocked separately from the doors and trunk, and even has its own air conditioner so packages can be left in the car on hot days.
Honda rear bumper storage patent image
The space required for this storage compartment would likely only be available in an electric car. Accompanying drawings show what appears to be a small exhaust tip, but the shape and location of the storage compartment would make packaging an exhaust system difficult. The heat generated by the exhaust could also make climate control of the storage compartment more difficult.
No patents are guaranteed to be commercialized, but this one, as written, is dependent on a service that hasn't come into existence yet. Honda could probably find other uses for a rear-bumper storage compartment, though. The automaker already offers an in-bed storage compartment in the Ridgeline pickup truck, so why stop there?
