- Hyundai’s sales tie-up with Amazon announced last year is now fully live for US drivers.
- Customers in 48 cities can order and finance a car via amazon.com/autos.
- Only Hyundai models are available, but the menu will extend to include other brands next year.
You can buy pretty much anything on Amazon, and starting this week, the extensive list even includes brand new cars – as long as the car you want is a Hyundai.
The Korean automaker and the retail giant announced plans to team-up and sell cars in 2023, and after the slow rollout of a pilot scheme, the program is fully live. As of now, drivers in 48 US cities can buy a new Hyundai with their new smartphone charging cable and bio-degradable dog poop bags.
Related: Hyundai-Amazon Deal Worries Dealers Who Fear Shift To Direct-Sales Model
Visitors to amazon.com/autos can browse, spec, order, finance and schedule collection of their car right from their smartphone and all without having to set foot in a dealership. That’s a big plus for many buyers who find the traditional car sales experience stressful and will appreciate the simple, no-haggle pricing transparency that Amazon is offering. Anyone who has purchased a Tesla will already be familiar with this way of buying cars.
But Amazon isn’t cutting dealers out of the picture. It’s effectively acting as a middle man between you and a traditional retailer, which helps it comply with laws in some states that forbid direct selling.
And you still need to go to a Hyundai dealer to pick the car up, where you have option of two types of meeting. The standard appointment takes 75 minutes and involves an Amazon Advisor talking you through the car’s features and then accompanying you on a brief drive. A shorter 45-minute meet skips the drive portion.
Amazon can handle trade-ins, but doesn’t offer lease deals, which it says will be added later. The program will also be rolled out to more areas and additional brands are scheduled to join the roster next year, though Amazon doesn’t say which brands.
Would you buy a new car from Amazon, or do you still prefer the traditional dealership-based car sales experience?
