On November 16, Amazon and Hyundai announced their partnership together at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Their partnership contract for 2024 will allow all Hyundai cars to be sold on Amazon.
During the announcement, Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy and Hyundai’s CEO José Muñoz, discussed the focusing key pieces of this partnership. They first mentioned that auto dealers will only be allowed to sell cars on the Amazon U.S stores. They also mentioned that when customers buy their new car, they can pick it up or have it delivered by their local dealership whenever. Though some people think having cars on Amazon is great, some of their marketing points might not work well for other people.
Some people like to traditionally go to dealerships then buy something online. Auto Body Repair and Collision Teacher at CTC Philip Allen, expressed, “I feel that with any purchase of a big-ticket item, particularly over $5000, consumers should deal directly in person if at all possible. Consumers should have the opportunity to feel, touch and drive a vehicle before purchasing it. You need to be able to ask questions, compare similar vehicles, ask questions about service, and manage your financing and warranties.”
Amazon is also selling cars that may interfere with other websites where cars can be bought, and the process of buying a car can be more complicated than in person. Brian Ranallo, a career and tech education teacher, comments, “I am not a big fan of this since this space (selling cars online) is already occupied by large entities such as Carmax, Carvana, and eBay. In addition, from what I understand, the dealer is still the point of contact and may complicate the buying process such as payment and lemon laws.”
Amazon does give chances for auto dealers to showcase their products online and will help Amazon gain more customers as Allen stated, “I think by opening the door to the vehicle market, Amazon is offering these companies the chance to reach online shoppers that may or may not be familiar with their product.”
Selling cars on the website will be helpful to people that don’t want to have to interact with a salesman. Also, it allows the customers to have direct comparisons of the car and being able to obtain shop deals. Ranallo mentioned, “I much prefer to buy a car online since you can shop deals and do real time direct comparisons without the interaction of a real person.”
Overall, the Amazon and Hyundai partnership will have more opportunities for people who may not be familiar with both companies’ products. Though there are many other websites that also sell cars, some people like it better to test drive a car or buy in person. Therefore Amazon’s and Hyundai’s partnership will have many good opportunities for both of their companies.
