Ford is exploring new methods of selling you cars and for the past couple of years, it has been toying with the idea of setting up giant structures which are essentially vending machines for cars. Ford has set up its first vending machine with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, it’s the execution of a partnership that the two companies entered into about two years ago.
The giant multi-story building located in Guangzhou, China is called the Super Test-Drive Center and in it are dozens of Ford cars. Users can simply select the car they want from Alibaba’s Tmall app and then take it for a three-day test drive.
They will thus have plenty of time to get used to the new car and decide whether or not they want to purchase it. The program leverages Alibaba’s services and gives potential customers discounts and incentives depending upon their usage on Alibaba’s ecosystem.
The concept of storing cars in mechanical facilities isn’t new, in fact, its roots date back to the early 1900s but this system has rarely been used to sell cars. That’s why Ford and Alibaba joined forces to come together and provide customers with a new way of purchasing cars. Whether or not this machine makes its way to other markets across the globe remains to be seen.