Ka-chow!
Amazon is going to sell cars.
Announced today at the 2023 LA Auto Show, The online shopping giant has partnered with Hyundai to start selling some of the company’s cars through their U.S. website. Starting late 2024, Amazon will have a selection of various Hyundai vehicles, with more brands to join as time goes on.
The Amazon car sales section will give uses the ability to shop for cars locally, sorting via a range of preferences, such as make, model, color, trim and features. And when they’ve found the one they’re looking for, they can check out online with their choice of payment and financing options. They can choose to either pick their new car up themselves, or have it delivered by their local dealership.
That’s the important part; it’s not so much that Amazon is the dealer, as it is a way for existing dealers to move stock. While Amazon already had “Vehicle Showrooms”, they didn’t allow for users to purchase a car. Soon, they’ll be able to do just that, and they’ll be able to just go to the dealership they bought from to get it. So, despite the somewhat misleading headline, this isn’t a direct-to-consumer model.
Amazon states that this will “create another way for dealers to build awareness of their selection and offer convenience to their customers”. And, yes, the dealers are on board. Mike Sullivan, owner of several LA-area dealerships, publicly supported the move on stage at the LA Auto Show.
We’re now partnering with one of the world’s leading digital retailers. They’ve led the way in delivering customer convenience, and now they’re going to help us take our customer experience to the next level. Amazon also brings massive reach and marketing power to connect to more customers. We can’t wait to get started.
Mike Sullivan
That said, the Amazon-Hyundai partnership doesn’t end there. Hyundai plans to use Amazon Web Services as their cloud provider of choice. And starting in 2025, their next generation of vehicles will integrate Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.
Source: TechCrunch
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