Dive Brief:

• Chevron USA launched its Chevron Apple CarPlay and Android Auto apps, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The new tool allows drivers to purchase fuel from their dashboard system. 
• In addition to enabling in-car fuel purchases, drivers can use the apps to locate nearby Chevron or Texaco gas stations, see station amenities, and add a carwash to their transactions. The apps are also tied to Chevron’s rewards program.
• The tie-up marks the first time an integrated energy company connected its U.S. fueling applications to Apple’s CarPlay tool, per the release. Apple recently began offering support for consumer fueling applications through CarPlay. The effort is also a nod to innovative tactics used to bolster brand loyalty programs. 

Dive Insight:

The internet may be abuzz with rumors that Apple’s long-delayed car may be coming to market by 2026, but that may not matter. The company’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto platforms are set to take over every other vehicle’s dashboard system in the meantime.

“Forget about Apple Car — Apple CarPlay is a bigger deal,” Asymco analyst Horace Dediu told Reuters earlier this year. “It’s very likely to scale to millions and millions of cars, if not hundreds of millions.” 

Apple unveiled its new CarPlay fuel payment feature at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this year. The basic premise of the feature, timed to the release of iOS 16,  is that drivers – instead of swiping their credit cards at the pump – can use a company’s app to activate the pump and pay for their transaction. Though, drivers will still have to get out of their cars and physically pump their gasoline. 

As the first energy company to take advantage of the payment-enabled platform, Chevron is planting its flag as a customer-focused company, tying the new feature to its rewards program to allow drivers to earn and redeem points. The new fueling feature by Apple could greatly help the auto and fueling industries expand their rewards programs, with other industries exploring various other digital tactics, like Starbucks adding an NFT component to its already successful rewards program and Chipotle playing into the hype of cryptocurrencies. 

“From the comfort of their vehicles, consumers can find stations with the amenities they want – convenience stores or car washes – as well as the energy they need, be it our traditional products with Techron or lower carbon solutions like renewable diesel blend, compressed natural gas and EV charging,” said Tracey Gardiner, director of global customer experience for Chevron in a press statement.