Amazon trials new car sales with Hyundai

The e-commerce giant Amazon has announced that its USA operation will begin online sales of new cars in 2024.

It revealed during the LA Auto Show that it has a partnership with Hyundai and will start selling vehicles to US customers on its website in the second half of 2024, with other brands joining later.

In 2016 Amazon trialled online new car sales in Italy with Fiat, offering the Fiat 500, Panda and 500L.

And in 2018 Volvo Car UK teamed up with Amazon in a ‘Prime Now test drives’ initiative, which allowed Amazon customers to book a test drive via the super-fast Prime Now UK delivery platform and have a Volvo V40 hatchback delivered to their door by a Volvo product specialist at the time of their choosing.

In the USA next year, Amazon's car sales section will allow customers to shop for vehicles in their area based on a range of preferences, including model, trim, color, and features, choose their preferred car, and then check out online with their chosen payment and financing options.

Customers will be able to buy a vehicle online and then pick it up or have it delivered by their local dealership, according to Amazon. The structure still rewards dealerships, unlike the direct sales models that completely sidestep the business model. When vehicles go on sale at Amazon, the local Hyundai dealer will be the seller of record.

Amazon says this shopping experience “will create another way for dealers to build awareness of their selection and offer convenience to their customers." 

A local dealer, Mike Sullivan, went on stafe at the LA Auto Show to support the launch, stating: “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.”