Alibaba is trying to position itself at the forefront of yet another revolution of convenience by bringing "car vending machines" to China. Just the thing we were missing.
Yu Wei, general manager of the automotive division of Alibaba's Tmall online shopping site, hopes to build the first of these colossal automobile-dispensing contraptions in China by the end of this year.
The way that they work is customers browse through the selection of vehicles with their mobile phone. After making their choice and a down-payment, the car is automatically delivered to them at ground level for them to drive off into the sunset.
Presumably, after many meetings with his PR team, Yu described the concept like this: "It will make buying cars as easy as buying a can of Coke."
This concept is originally from... where else but Singapore where second-hand car dealer Autobahn Motors operates a 15-floor tower holding 60 luxury cars.