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Alibaba to introduce gigantic car vending machines in China

January 4, 2018

Alibaba, China's e-commerce giant, will introduce two gigantic vending machines this month that will enable customers to order and purchase a car, according to designboom.com.

In August, Tmall — Alibaba's business-to-consumer platform — announced a "vending machine for vehicles" that would make "buying cars as easy as buying a Coke," according to designboom.com This month, two of those machines will be unveiled to the public in Shanghai and Nanjing.

A YouTube video posted on endgadget.com illustrates how the revolving vehicle vendor will work as part of Alibaba's test drive experience.

Buyers will be able to download an app, touch a few screens, schedule a time, head to the car machine, use facial recognition technology and select a car.

Tmall's system does not work like CarMax, designboom noted. Users will get three entire days with the vehicle. At the end of three days, the car can be purchased via phone, with no salesmen, no human interaction and seemingly no paperwork.

Carvana, another car vending machine, opened in Houston, Texas at the end of 2016.