Lazada Malaysia Now Sells Cars...No Returns

(UPDATE 12.12: All 12 VWs were sold within 20 minutes after they became available on Lazada. Malaysians WOULD buy cars online. What next? Private planes, helicopters and yachts?)

Well, just limited edition Volkswagen Beetles, and just 12 of them. And they go on sale on the 12th of December for three days only. Clearly this is a gimmick Lazada and VW have cooked up for publicity, but this could very well be how we buy cars in the future. A recent study by YouGov for Trust Pilot found that 25% of the respondents would buy a car online; the percentage is higher for Millennials, of which 36% would purchase a car online.

So, if you're keen, these Beetles will have about 18% slashed off the retail price during the 12.12 Sale, so each will go for RM112,112 only, and comes with a host of other goodies (car tint, Touch 'n Go card with pre-loaded credit, and your very own VW keychain...whoopee).

The Beetles are available in three different designs: -

A red one (this writer's choice). 

 And the Herbie design in white or silver.

To secure one of the vehicles, you'll have to pay a booking fee of RM5,000 and you'll then be "contacted by a Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) representative the next working day to confirm further details".

Ahah. So, only the initial part of the transaction will be made on Lazada, and the rest would still require the assistance of a salesperson and a physical dealership. Guess the "death of the salesman" is not coming so soon after all.

But that's not to say that it won't come at all. Showrooms and car salesmen could soon be replaced by an online presence and automated system, extending to after-sale services for maintenance and arrangement to have your car picked up and sent to the service centre. (Read this: Just Click & Buy Your Next Car.)

We're keen to see if Malaysians would actually take this first step to online car-shopping, so we'll keep an eye on this marketing gimmick. A word of caution, though, to interested buyers—the listings state that "this item is non-returnable".