Amazon announced a deal with Hyundai that will allow dealers to sell cars on the site for the first time in the second half of 2024, with other brands to follow later this year.
Previously, customers could visit car dealerships through Amazon and compare prices even if they couldn't physically buy a car.
This will change next year when many Hyundai dealers begin offering models for sale on the website.
Customers can view cars on the website and purchase them using their preferred payment method.
Amazon's car sales division allows customers to purchase cars in their area based on a set of preferences, including model, style, color and style.
The customer can then choose to collect the car from a nearby dealer or have it delivered to their home at a time that suits them.
The local Hyundai dealer remains the seller of the vehicle, while Amazon acts as an intermediary between the customer and the dealer.
It is unclear whether the company is in discussions with other automakers to list its cars on the site.
“This new shopping experience provides merchants with another opportunity to increase awareness of their selections and provide greater convenience to customers,” Amazon said in a blog post.
Amazon is slowly making inroads into the auto industry, offering virtual showrooms and price comparison tools for select brands.
You can also purchase certain car parts and accessories through this site.
Under the agreement, Amazon's Alexa voice assistant will be available in Hyundai vehicles starting in 2025, and Hyundai will use AWS to provide cloud services.
People often hate buying a car, and most surveys show that selling a car is the most frustrating experience for people.
Tesla helped popularize a sales strategy of selling consumer products directly to customers rather than selling products through retail and wholesale, where people bought cars directly through the company's website.
Forty-eight states have laws that prohibit or restrict manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers. However, this has actually changed due to Tesla's popularity.
Tesla does not have independent dealers, although dealer associations in several states have filed multiple lawsuits against Tesla to prevent the company from selling its cars.
Amazon's deal with Hyundai avoids this problem by ensuring that dealers remain an important part of the process. Most dealers allow their customers to search for and purchase cars through their websites, and Amazon supports this process as an additional platform with millions of customers every day.