Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2014. Its figures, with Kandi at about 50 installations and planning more than 700 by year end, are from then. The scheme’s current status is unknown.
We’ve seen all kinds of vending machines, dispensing everything from gold bars and caviar to used knickers. In this case, though, the Chinese company Kandi Technologies has developed the first giant vending machine where, if you need a car, you simply go to the nearest machine and take one out. How does it work?
The company already has close to 50 installations and plans to end the year with more than 700 machines (centres). The idea is that users can get around different cities without needing their own vehicle. Interested users receive a card linked to their account, and that card entitles them to take out a car and leave it at the machine closest to their destination. You could say it works just like bike rental companies, although the infrastructure this system needs is quite striking (because of its size).
You pay for the car you take out by the hour. The vehicles are electric, so the idea aims to tackle China’s serious pollution problem. I think this business idea was inspired by the car storage system that Volkswagen pioneered: the company decided to save more than 80% of its space by storing cars stacked on top of each other, with a very original robotic dispensing mechanism.
You can see how this giant vending machine works in the following video.
Watch: The giant car vending machine in action
See also: A 3D printer that can build a house in 24 hours
Featured image: Ingo2802, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
