Singapore has been a locus point of innovation for the world. It’s market driven and entrepreneurial. The country focuses on developing a digitalized and green country. The government support has made it possible to make it a smart nation with use of AI , technology and robotics. The latest trend is their unique car vending machine.
This vending machine is run by Autobahn Motors. It is owned and managed by the Hong family. Mr Gary and Jack Hong are owners. They are quixotic behind this innovation. They have built high-tech showrooms with automated systems to regulate its vehicle inventory. The company Autobahn is solely owned by the Hong family. They were truly inspired to do something unique. Lamborghinis
The Hong’s thought of building something that lays out honesty, commitment and customer satisfaction. They initiated the business with passion to curate something for automobiles. The high-tech is just about that and an absolute talk of the town.
Pick a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Bentley Within Two Minutes
Located on Jalan Bukit Merah, it is at the ABM Ten Square building located in Singapore. It is 6 kilometers west of Singapore’s central business district.It’s quite visible while you walk or pass by in a taxi as it’s a 15 storey glass tower right in the city. It can load 60 cars. It is operated by Autobahn Motors, a used luxury car dealership.
It’s a solitary automated and digital showroom especially for high-end vehicles.
The design was essentially made to augment space efficiently in a land deficient city like Singapore. It was also a strategic way of displaying Luxurious inventories and stand out with their rivals.This was the main purpose of the company.
The tower is still functional and is a landmark in Singapore. It is utilized by Autobahn motors and it has also been part of promotional campaigns. ( Gran Turismo 7 video game).
How Can One Buy a Ferrari From This Vending Machine
It’s the fishbone system at the ground floor, which is a touchscreen interfaceIts an Automotive Inventory Management system also known as AIMS.A customer can browse and select the car they like. The Fishbone is an advanced and automated vehicle retrieval management system. It can help in delivering cars from the storage space easily. It then brings the selected car down on the ground floor. It is specifically brought to view it closely. Test drives or purchases happen usually in a fraction of one or two minutes.
The cars that have a solid view in that tower are supercars and dream cars. They have a vehicles like 1991 Mercedes-Benz SL, 1973 BMW 3.- CS, 1997 Ferrari Dino GT4 , 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250 SL Pagoda, 1974 Austin Mini, 197 Jaguar XJ,1976 MGB and 1955 Morgan Plus 4. It also has the Volkswagen Sharan, Lexus RX and modern Mini hatchbacks.
Mr Gary Hong shared that there was a need to store a lot of cars and at the same time they wanted to curate something creative and innovative.
It has got lots of enquiries from developers to use AIMs for more efficiently storing and retaining vehicles. The tower illuminates in the night with its beautiful view of the glass front with high-end vehicles in display.It’s an awestruck moment for all.
How Does The Car Vending Machine Work?
A car coin-operated vending machine functions on pre-purchase. It’s a digital system to book the car online in a multi-story glass tower. The Customers receive a special coin and they insert it into the kiosk. Once the coin is inserted the automation retrieval process starts.
The Robotics system is a masterpiece that very easily retrieves the car from the tower and aims to deliver it to the bay for the customer who purchased it.
The online system works differently. Customers can book on an online portal of the company that operates the machine and the process begins from there on.The Customer can schedule a pickup time.The customer awaits for the vehicle at the tower where it is delivered at the bay. The customer can use the 7-day return policy and take the vehicle along with them.
Vending Machines Are Not Just in Singapore
Nashville Tennessee engaged in a Caravan with a similar setup in second hand vehicles. Whereas in 2018 Guangzhou,China will have a car vending machine for motor testing. Alibaba and Ford curated a vending machine for vehicles. Customers could select and test drive a car via their app. They could then purchase Ford vehicles. How different can this get from being unstaffed completely. A cool automation of Alibaba’s Tmall App for customers to pick their choice of a car by making a simple deposit.
This will dispense the car for free for a 3 day test drive. It uses face recognition to pick the vehicle for the test drive. The digital system is so well made that it offers easy access and good experience for online and offline purchases. The customers after the test drive can either purchase the car only through the app or schedule a return. The main aim and strategy of
Alibaba was to simply help customers buy cars and provide a great retail experience by blending online easy access with a test drive physically.
But to use this service the company makes sure that the customer has a good credit score on Alibaba’s Zhima credit scoring service and is an Alibaba Super Member. Certainly to avoid and prevent misuse of exceeding trips of test drives there is a set limit one customer can take test drives within a two-month period.
India yet has no plans to come up with a car vending system. The Singapore vending machine has made a stir on the internet but not in the Indian market.There are vending machines for snacks ,drinks and smaller retail needs across India.
Vending Machines are a great idea but it can be a great attraction and marketing strategy giving unique delivery experience.