We hope you brought enough coins to be able to buy the car that you want! Well okay, you don’t exactly need coins to operate this vending machine, all you need is a smartphone and a high enough Social Credit score in China.
With the marketplace for buying a new car ever-changing, Ford looked for a new way for customers to test drive and buy a new car, so the only logical way was to create a giant vending machine. Being titled the “Super Test Drive Experience”, Ford was looking at creating a new experience for consumers rather than having to step foot onto a dreary car dealership and feel the pressure of a salesperson.
The vending machine works like this; users download the Tmall app, select the car they want if they have a high enough Social Credit score they pay nothing, if not then the fees range from $16-$32. Then the machine sends a car down on a lift, you snap a quick selfie to confirm, and then you’re off for a 3-day test drive in the car of your choosing.
At any given time, there are supposed to be over 100 cars for users to be able to test drive such as the Mustang, Explorer, Edge, and the Everest. With new companies like Carvana and Carmax changing the ways cars are bought, Ford is looking to not get left in the dust with the new trends.
While it’s not the supercar vending machine in Singapore, it’s still a pretty interesting idea if this actually catches on. Even just to rent a car for three days, you can’t beat the price. It still is unclear whether this will be a permanent installation, at least it is a new way to engage with a car brand instead of touring a lot of a dealership. The only thing missing is being able to insert a giant coin into the vending machine to make your choice of car.
The Super Test Drive Experience is set to open April 23rd . What do you think? Do you see yourself ever buying a car from a vending machine instead of going onto an actual car lot, or will dealerships always have a place in the car buying ecosystem?
The post Ford and Alibaba Team Up to Create Giant Car Vending Machine appeared first on GAS MONKEY GARAGE | RICHARD RAWLINGS | FAST N LOUD.
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