Honda desires to construct further cupboard space into EV bumpers for deliveries.

A patent software submitted by the automaker to america Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on July 13, 2023, and revealed on Feb. 1, 2024, particulars a slide-out drawer for packages, turning automobiles into mailboxes on wheels.

Honda rear bumper storage patent picture

This hidden storage compartment is designed for a attainable future through which automobiles could be designated as supply areas, one thing Volvo examined in Sweden in 2015. On the time, Volvo pitched in-car supply as a manner for patrons to obtain necessary packages even when they don’t seem to be dwelling throughout enterprise hours to signal for them.

Leaving a bundle within the trunk of a automobile is a little more safe than leaving it on a stoop or porch, however, as Honda notes within the patent software, the tradeoff is {that a} third occasion will get entry to a automobile’s inside. The in-bumper storage compartment offers a safe place to go away a bundle whereas conserving the remainder of the automobile off-limits. It is designed to be locked and unlocked individually from the doorways and trunk, and even has its personal air conditioner so packages could be left within the automobile on sizzling days.

Honda rear bumper storage patent picture

The area required for this storage compartment would seemingly solely be out there in an electrical automobile. Accompanying drawings present what seems to be a small exhaust tip, however the form and placement of the storage compartment would make packaging an exhaust system tough. The warmth generated by the exhaust might additionally make local weather management of the storage compartment harder.

No patents are assured to be commercialized, however this one, as written, depends on a service that hasn’t come into existence but. Honda might most likely discover different makes use of for a rear-bumper storage compartment, although. The automaker already affords an in-bed storage compartment within the Ridgeline pickup truck, so why cease there?