This is just the start…..soon car showrooms will be obsolete as the next generation of car buyers look into their digital devices to buy their new rides. Volvo’s best-selling XC60 went on sale on ‘Tmall’, Alibaba’s B2C shopping platform recently and was sold out in under 2 minutes.
The online offer meant that Chinese consumers can buy the new SUV from Volvo, which is a unit of Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a day before it goes on sale through all of Volvo’s other distribution channels in China.
The XC60 comes in about a dozen colors depending on the market, but the blue version was made available only to Tmall shoppers. All 288 exclusive blue models offered in the initial round of sales on Tmall, starting at RMB429,900, were sold out within the first 75 seconds.
Also, 40 of the new cars will be available to Alibaba Super Members for a Super Test-Drive, a service introduced last week as part of Alibaba’s soon-to-launch Auto Vending Machines.
Earlier this month, the Chinese technology giant announced a partnership with Ford Motor in which the two companies said they would leverage artificial intelligence, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and e-commerce via Tmall to “redefine the consumer journey and user experience for automobiles.”
Tmall is also slated to open its car vending machine next month, although the location has yet to be disclosed. Consumers will browse cars stored in a massive garage-like structure on their smartphones, make their purchase, and then the cars will be delivered to them at ground level. The cars, including the XC60, will also be available for a test-drive.
