[blackwasp]

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company, has partnered with Ford to sell the electric vehicles (EVs) made by the latter in China. The vehicles will be sold via a car vending machine - a dealership without any sales people.

Two facilities in Shanghai and Nanjing are planned to be up by January 2018. Depending on their success, Alibaba will roll out more such automated car dealerships across China.

Cars will be listed on the company's Taobao shopping app from which users can select the cars they like. The prospective customers will then be asked to take their selfie, which will later be used by the facility to identify the person before releasing the car for the test drive. Initially, users have a 3-day period to try the cars out before confirming the purchase. Once decided, the payments will be made through the app or a return will be scheduled.

To limit misuse, there is a limit of 5-test drives every two months. Additionally, to use this feature, customers need to be Alibaba Super Members, based on the company's credit scoring system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvJFluC3A5s

Source - CNET

Link to the Team-BHP News

[lemedico]

This is a bit overboard. Buying a car is a life experience for the owner, regardless of how many he/she has owned so far. I don't think vending machines should be used for vehicle sales. Are these brand new or pre-owned vehicles? What if one would like to add factory options/features?

I've had so many bad experiences of my crisps packets getting stuck in vending machines.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

The vehicles will be sold via a car vending machine

Inspired by Carvana USA:

Initially, users have a 3-day period to try the cars out before confirming the purchase.

A-B-U-S-E written all over it. Would be interesting to see how it pans out for them, and whether the model is sustainable.

[jeganatu]

https://youtu.be/Hi0aPm02JM0

The worlds most expensive vending machine, the super car vending dealership machine is here at Singapore.