Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has now rolled out Ford vending machines in China.
The company announced a partnership with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) that consists of a car vending machine that churns out vehicles for users to test. It’s called the Super Test-Drive Center and it’s located in Guangzhou.
It is a Ford vending machine with a capacity of 42 cars that allows consumers to borrow them by paying certain fees on Alibaba’s Tmall app and share a selfie. Users will have the option of picking from 10 different models, including the Modean, the Explorer and an imported Mustang.
Once consumers borrow a car, they can spend the next three days riding it around the city before having to return it to the machine to give others a chance to try them out. Users with certain Tmall profiles can even get discounts depending on their shopping profiles, pushing users to buy these cars at a cheaper price.
While the idea of Ford vending machines is a cool one, it is unclear whether or not the company, along with Alibaba, will release more of these. The promotion will only run between now and April 23.
The companies are hoping that the move will send more customers to Ford in a way that is highly impersonal as it doesn’t require dealing with salespeople or having to test drive a car with someone else on board.
F stock is up 2.6% Monday, while BABA shares are up 5.1%.
