The Super Test-Drive Center is offering over 100 Ford cars for the Chinese consumers.
New Delhi: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and US carmaker Ford have unveiled car vending machine in China’s southern city Guangzhou.
The Super Test-Drive Center is offering over 100 Ford cars for the Chinese consumers.
Alibaba also planning to build similar auto vending machines in Beijing and Hangzhou, while continue exploring collaboration opportunities with Ford in cloud computing, digital marketing, as well as in-car operating systems with AliOS, Alibaba’s IoT operating-system developer.
Till April 23, the consumers can sign up on the Tmall or Taobao mobile app, pick up the selected car through an unmanned car vending machine in the Center, and get a three-day test drive for full experience of the vehicle before they decide to make the purchase.
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The car vending machine is exclusively offering Ford models, including the brand’s Explorer SUV, Mustang and Escort.
Potential buyers to get discounts and other incentives based on consumer insights derived from user activity and history with the Alibaba ecosystem.
Gu Wanguo, general manager of Vehicles at Tmall Auto, said the auto vending machine is an important step in Alibaba’s new retail push.
“By leveraging Alibaba’s data intelligence and technologies, the auto vending machine and super drive test services can enable auto brand owners and distributors better serve their customers.” Gu added.
“Consumers can use the internet to access more accurate, convenient services and get a deeper understanding into particular vehicles. In the meantime, we are opening our car vending machine’s infrastructure to the entire industry to leverage and enable their distributors, in hopes of helping upgrade the automotive sector as a whole.”
Last year in December, Alibaba inked an agreement with Ford Motor to explore ways to leverage mobility and redefine the automotive ownership experience in China.
The partnership on the new Tmall Super Test-Drive Center in Guangzhou marks an important step towards a buying experience that fully integrates the best of the online and physical worlds for Chinese consumers.