A car dealership in Tennessee called Carvana has been attracting attention recently after it launched the first-ever vending machine for cars.
The "vending machine" is a five-story glass tower affair on Interstate 65 in Nashville, and it is filled with used vehicles for sale. It is fully automated, and customers purchasing cars must use an oversized coin to trigger the process. Once the coin is inserted into a slot, a machine spins and places the vehicle on a track, which delivers it to the car bay. The elaborate structure does look and feel like a giant vending machine for people who had the chance to experience the process.
"Carvana's mission is to create a better way to buy a car, and this new vending machine will be a one-of-a-kind experience that mirrors just how simple and easy we've made it to buy a car online," Ernie Garcia, one of Carvana's owners, told Digital Trends. The vending machine works in tandem with Carvana's online store, where the customers first select their vehicle.
Some observers would probably find the car vending machine as a gimmick. The case could be true, as it is a way for Carvana to stand out among the competition, according to Engadget. However, the strategy is quite successful, as Carvana's revenue grew from $4 million to $45 million since the vending concept was introduced, The Tennessean reported.
The car vending facility reportedly took years to build, and the owners had to commission architects and engineers from around the world to complete its design.
