next time If you see a Hyundai online, you may be able to hit Add to Cart.
Assuming you specifically want a new Hyundai, you can now buy the car on Amazon. The online retailer has launched its long-awaited automotive service called Amazon Cars. Amazon announced the service in late 2023 and said it would arrive sometime in 2024. The service is available today, just in time to arrive just before the deadline.
The Korean automaker is the only manufacturer working with Amazon Autos, although Amazon says it will “roll out” (almost certainly intentional) services with additional dealers and manufacturers in 2025.
Customers can log into Amazon Autos and search for the make and model of Hyundai they want, then find vehicles at nearby dealerships with the combination of features they want. Buyers can select trim, color and interior features and then get an appraisal of their current vehicle to estimate the trade-in price. (Amazon says it is working with an “independent third party” to determine trade-in values.)
The payment process offers options to pay in full or seek help obtaining financing, although interest rates may vary. Finally, buyers can electronically sign most paperwork on Amazon and then schedule a time to pick up their new vehicle at the Hyundai dealership. There are also the familiar features that have become stalwarts of buying things on Amazon: user reviews, star ratings, and an add to cart button. (Also throw in some soap while you shop for that $66,000 Ioniq 5.)
Unlike everything Amazon sells on its website, it won’t offer shipping service for the vehicles, so you’ll still have to pick them up at a dealership. There are also some stipulations that make the service not as easy as shopping on Amazon usually is. The service is available in 48 US states (sorry, Alaska and Hawaii). It will allow buyers to purchase only new Hyundai vehicles for now, so no used vehicles are allowed yet.
Amazon’s move makes sense in an always-online world where cars are packed with software and riddled with subscription fees. It is also illustrative of the changes in consumer behaviors that are leading to the Amazonification of car purchasing. Manufacturers like Tesla and Rivian sell their vehicles to their customers almost exclusively online. Other automakers will surely follow in their footsteps, and it’s clear that Amazon not only wants to join that trend, but also be at the center of it. Still, some distributors are skeptical that the service will actually work in Amazon’s favor in the long run. Buying cars is a complicated business, made worse by rules in the US that prevent retailers like Amazon from selling cars directly.
The service that Amazon offers here is not actually that of a seller (you still have to go to the dealer to get the item), but that of a facilitator of the deal between the buyer and the dealer. The company is acting as a middleman of sorts, hoping that if it makes the car-buying process simpler than the haggling and negotiation of going directly to a dealership, it will be enough to entice buyers to make click on the buy button.