Amazon to start selling cars directly as it inks first deal with Hyundai to include Alexa on board

Much to the surprise of independent dealerships, Amazon and Hyundai have inked a partnership to start selling cars directly to consumers on the globe's most popular online marketplace. Hyundai used the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show to both announce the new 2024 Santa Fe SUV for North America, and the fact that it will sell it on Amazon.

The two companies go out of their way to explain that the Amazon car sales project is not aimed at circumventing Hyundai dealers, but is rather a fresh way to reach their customers who most likely already shop on Amazon and might even be Prime members anyway. "In 2024, auto dealers for the first time will be able to sell vehicles in Amazon’s U.S. store, and Hyundai will be the first brand available for customers to purchase," tips the press release.

This leads to the thought that in the future Amazon might expand its car sales portfolio to other brands, with Hyundai's sister company KIA immediately coming to mind, perhaps even with the EV3 and EV4 concept that it showcased at the LA Auto Show.

Next year, those looking to buy the new 2024 Santa Fe, for instance, will be able to simply go on Amazon, enter a ZIP code, and filter the area vehicles by trim, choose a color, then add options. Afterwards, Amazon will take care of their preferred payment scheme and process the financing data, all from the comfort of the Amazon account they know and trust.

Those buying a car on Amazon will then simply go and pick up the vehicle at the dealership which has included it in its Amazon listings, or order a vehicle delivery. "This new shopping experience will create another way for dealers to build awareness of their selection and offer convenience to their customers," says Hyundai, again trying to present its upcoming Amazon car store as just another outreach avenue for dealerships, rather than a direct sales channel.

Hyundai's partnership with Amazon over will also result in outfitting each of its new vehicles with the Alexa virtual assistant on board, the way one would be using the popular Amazon Echo Dot Alexa speaker at home. Besides the usual Alexa experience for smart home and media controls, the driver would now be able to "ask Alexa for up-to-date traffic updates or weather reports and voice-control the in-vehicle media player or navigation system," while some of those features will work even without Internet connection in the car.