Bentley has teamed up with California-based gas-filling company Filld to help make owners’ lives even more carefree. Thanks to the new service, owners in the San Francisco Bay Area can have their Bentley’s fuel tanks filled without ever needing to go to the dreadful trouble of driving to a gas station, inserting a credit card into a pump, and standing idly by as gas flows into their tanks.
When a Bentley signed up for the service sees its fuel level drop below a quarter tank, Filld receives a signal and the car is added to Filld’s list of deliveries. A Filld employee is then given the location of the car and the ability to open the fuel door. If the owner of the car cares to know when this stranger will be dumping fluids into his or her car, the delivery can be tracked from their smartphone.
Though Bentley may be the first automaker to directly offer a service that notifies a company to come fill its cars, scheduled gas-delivery service has become a growing industry in America. Earlier this year, companies like Filld and some of its competitors—Booster Fuels, Purple, WeFuel, and Yoshi—came under attack from some fire departments and municipalities due to concerns the companies were not properly approved to carry flammable liquids, that drivers weren’t trained properly, and that a rolling gas station basically sounds like a bomb on wheels.
When previously questioned about the safety measures it takes, a Filld spokesperson told Tech Insider, “Filld operates with the utmost attention to safety at all times. We serve our customers in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.”
The service is currently in the test stages, and is only available for use in the Bay Area. Filld claimed in a statement that the service would be expanding to other areas in the near future. At the moment, it is unclear which Bentleys may be available for use in the program or how owners might be able to sign up for the service.
A spokesperson with the San Francisco Fire Department was quoted in a Bloomberg story in May saying the service is ” is not permitted.” It is unclear whether that has changed, or whether Filld is simply operating outside the city limits.
The Drive has contacted both Filld and the SFFD for comment, and will update this post if we hear back.