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Amazon’s online car dealership with Hyundai is now live
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Amazon’s online car dealership with Hyundai is now live

Today, for the first time, you can buy a car – yes, an entire car – on Amazon. Same day delivery not guaranteed.

The e-commerce giant’s first foray into car shopping is called Amazon Auto. The company partners with Hyundai dealerships in 48 cities across the United States to list vehicles on the site. Customers can browse, order, find financing, and arrange delivery, all within the familiar confines of Amazon’s online ecosystem.

Of course, if you’re looking for anything other than a Hyundai, you’re out of luck. At least for now.

“With Amazon Autos, we bring the simplicity and ease that customers have come to expect from Amazon when buying cars, one of their most important purchases, while giving dealers a new channel to connect with a broad public”, Fran Jin, global head of Amazon Autos, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have Hyundai as our exclusive launch partner and look forward to welcoming more brands and expanding our selection to customers as the program grows.”

“We bring the simplicity and ease that customers expect from Amazon when buying a car. »

Amazon first announced plans to get into car shopping last year. Previously, customers could browse car showrooms and compare prices on Amazon, but not actually buy a car. With the partnership with Hyundai, Amazon has finally added a key piece of the puzzle. And above all, the final seller of the vehicle remains the dealer; The Amazon platform will be the intermediary between the customer and the dealer.

As such, Amazon needs to attract dealers almost as much as car buyers. The company argues that it can offer “a new sales channel that connects it to millions of Amazon customers.” And with over 310 million active users, Amazon certainly has the numbers to prove it.

Trade-ins will also be accepted through Amazon’s new automotive business. Customers will be asked a series of questions about the condition of the vehicle, after which the request will be processed by an “independent valuation service” to determine the trade-in value.

A list of 48 US cities where Amazon can sell you a car.
Screenshot: Amazon Autos

And for a limited time, Amazon is sweetening the deal by offering a $2,300 gift card to anyone who purchases a car through the site. The card can be applied to the purchase of a vehicle, but the offer ends January 10, 2025.

People generally hate buying a car, with most surveys showing that the dealership experience tops people’s lists of frustrations. Tesla helped pioneer a movement toward a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model in which people buy their vehicles directly from the company, avoiding going through a dealership.

Forty-eight states have laws that limit or prohibit manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers – although that has started to change recently thanks to the popularity of Tesla. Tesla does not have independent dealers, but dealer associations in several states have filed many trials against Tesla to prevent the company from selling cars.

Amazon’s deal with Hyundai avoids this problem by ensuring that dealers remain a crucial part of the process. Most dealerships allow customers to browse and purchase a car through their own websites, but having Amazon as an additional platform with millions of daily customers will definitely help make the process even easier.