Skip to main content

Alibaba to start selling cars in China via big vending machines


The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is all set to enter the whole new market in China. The company has decided to launch car vending machines in Shanghai and Nanjing by January 2018. As the tech giant is already involved in selling cars on its online portal, the new experiment will involve these machines to vend cars on demand.

Alibaba Group made record-breaking sales of around 25.3 billion on Singles’ Day this year which is double than Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales altogether. The Chinese e-commerce mammoth is planning to open two fully automated vending machine stores. The effort is aimed at giving users a better buying experience to purchase vehicles.
The whole procedure and transaction are designed to work online without any human involvement. Buyers will have to take a snap of the car they like on street using Taobao app. For scheduling a test drive, users will have to add some important info and snap a selfie. Later on, the buyer will move towards the car vending machine (Tmall Auto Facility) which will verify the identity of the person using facial recognition technology. That’s it, the simple process will enable you to get a three-day test drive. The process of payment is online as well.

Interestingly, if you don’t like the car you bought, you can return it and book another car for a three-day test drive. However, you cannot book the same car for the test again and only five cars will be allowed to be tested in the initial phase. To be eligible for buying cars and avail this facility, one needs to be a ‘Super Member’. The super members have a certain minimum credit score on Alibaba’s credit scoring system.

Although the Alibaba Group is going to introduce this system in China for the very first time, yet this is not new for the US and few other European markets. The US has already made available four of such machines and even Singapore has its own super vending machine.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

This startup is pairing the blockchain with farming

Ripe, a blockchain startup, is  showcasing  how the distributed ledger technology can be applied to farming and provide companies with important data on crops and throughout the supply chain. By combining a blockchain with purpose-built scanners and specialized sensors, the company is able to provide critical data that is easily communicated to partners, demonstrating why  blockchain is growing more popular  as a tool to be leveraged as part of an IoT solution. Blockchain is a key tool for the IoT because of how it combines data storage and communication in a trusted medium. A blockchain is a shared, distributed database  that acts as an immutable ledger, recording entries and verifying them across a number of independent participants. Once an entry is made, it’s marked with a unique hash code that places it sequentially in the ledger. In agriculture, this means that farmers can use sensors and handheld devices to gather data about crops like tomatoes...

Honda Launches the CR-V SUV in Pakistan

The 2018 Honda CR-V has been launched in Pakistan and it looks charming. Honda has finally launched the 2018 Honda CR-V in Pakistan. This Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) has proven to be pretty popular around the world with an average of 300,000 units sold annually. In Pakistan, the Honda CR-V is gaining the popularity and attention of local auto enthusiasts. Honda CR-V 2018 was recognized as ‘2018 Motor Trend SUV of the year’ recently as well. The international model of CR-V has these four variants: Honda CR-V LX (Standard), Honda CR-V EX, Honda CR-V EX-L, Honda CR-V Touring. The CR-V offers pretty great features when you look at it. Let's take a look at what Honda Compact Recreational Vehicle (CR-V) has to offer. Exterior Because of its shiny new sporty-looking exterior, the vehicle is placed in small sports utility vehicle’s category. The exterior, no doubt, makes you want to look twice as some modifications to the previous model have been made. ...

Samsung Launches Mid-Range Galaxy Wide 3

HANDSETS Check out Samsung’s new low-mid segment smartphone, the Galaxy Wide 3 with 3300 mAh battery and a 5.5-inch display. Samsung unveiled Galaxy Wide 3 for the South Korean market featuring low-mid specifications, and a design much similar to the well-known Galaxy J series. It does not follow the sweet bezel-less display trend, albeit comes with decent specifications for all those Samsung fans out there. Design & Display As you’d expect, the design is fairly simple with large bezels that house Samsung’s signature hardware button configuration, with the company’s latest icons for the back and menu button. The volume rocker looks modern and is housed on the left edge of the phone. The display is a 5.5-inch HD (720 x 1280) unit, an IPS LCD, with no edge-to-edge aesthetic. Huawei Unveils 8e Youth With a Tall Display & Android Oreo For Cheap Hardware & Storage The Galaxy Wide 3 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7870, octa-core, clocked at 1.6 G...