Would You Buy A Car From A Humanoid Robot Salesperson?

Unlike Boston Dynamics’ robots, Chery’s Mornine has long fake hair, breasts and looks like it’s been to a questionable doctor for BBL surgery

                                        https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/                                    

If you’ve ever walked into a dealership and felt like the salesperson was a robot programmed to get as much money from you as possible, well, you’re not wrong. But now, the Chinese automaker Chery wants to take it to the next level, by literally putting robots in the showroom to sell cars.

At last month’s Shanghai Auto Show and at a major dealer event, Chery unveiled Mornine, a human-shaped Stormtrooper-like robot that, judging from its long hair, totally unnecessary breasts and weirdly bulbous butt was evidently designed by a team of guys.

More: Mercedes Puts Humanoid Robots To Work At Berlin Production Site

The automaker thinks Mornine, which can walk (badly), talk and has human-shaped hands and DeepSeek AI tech, could be used to serve drinks and answer customer questions about a car’s equipment and technical specification, Auto News reports.

One dealer AN’s reporter spoke to thought the robots might cost €50k ($57k) each, but wasn’t prepared to commit to buying one of the 220 examples Chery says it will deliver to dealers this year without knowing the final price. One robot is already in operation in a Malaysian showroom, however, Chery revealed.

Chery’s Bigger Robot Plans

Chinese buyers, and in particular younger Chinese buyers, love tech and Chery thinks having Mornine in a dealership could drive showroom traffic. But that’s really only a small part of much bigger plan Chery has to grow its Aimoga robot business so big that it reduces the car unit to a side hustle. The company also has a robot dog for people who aren’t able to have a real canine, or are maybe just fed up of picking up its turds.

Chery International’s President, Zhang Guibing, doesn’t think of Aimoga as just a car accessory but as “the real future” for the company. And hey, why wouldn’t he? Robots don’t ask for benefits, never call in sick, and, if they’re lucky, could even replace entire industries.

Robots Are Everywhere, And They’re Not Going Anywhere

Plenty of other companies are hedging their bets on robots, including Tesla, and also Hyundai, who bought Boston Dynamics in 2021 and says it will deploy its agile humanoids into a US factory this year. Mercedes already has robots working at its Berlin facility, and although the program is just a trial, it’s easy to imagine how car plants will one day be staffed almost entirely by two-legged machines that don’t need lunch breaks and holidays and never strike for more pay.

More: Honda Replaces Workers With Robots To Slash Costs At EV Plant

So, while we might still be a few years away from getting our own personal robot assistants, the day isn’t far off when robots will be doing everything from assembling cars to maybe answering questions about them in showrooms. Is it a bit much? Probably. But in the age of AI, is anything really surprising anymore?