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Amazon to sell cars in 2024 starting with Hyundai

JD_co
edited November 2023 in Other Investing
https://www.axios.com/2023/11/16/amazon-hyundai-cars-sale-alexa

Amazon plans to begin allowing Hyundai dealers to sell new vehicles on its platform, launching the e-commerce giant into the lucrative but highly competitive car market for the first time.

Amazon's sheer e-commerce heft means the company must instantly be taken seriously in the automotive retail space. Amazon announced its plans Thursday during the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show, and said Hyundai would be the "first" brand to sell cars on the platform.

Customers will be able to search based on model, trim, color and other features, while also choosing payment and financing options. As part of their deal, Hyundai will begin incorporating Amazon's Alexa voice assistant into its vehicles beginning in 2025.

Comments

  • yogibearbullyogibearbull
    And in "exchange", Hyundai will start using Amazon Alexa and Amazon AWS cloud. This looks like an extension of several online car buying services that have tie-ins with the local dealers. Of course, the scale would be huge.

    It won't be direct from auto manufacturers to consumers, the model used by Tesla that required changes in some laws.

    https://apnews.com/article/amazon-aws-hyundai-dealers-b1635fcd8e85eefe983fd565185a1c99
  • hank
    edited November 2023
    10-15 years ago that would have been heartening to hear. These days I try to stay as far away as I can from Amazon. But I digress. Somebody can start an OT thread if so inclined on the subject.

    Thanks for the story. No problem. Most of us own Amazon through 1 fund or another.
  • AnnaAnna
    Free return policy in force?
  • hank
    edited November 2023
    Anna said:

    Free return policy in force?

    Damn - @Anna. You had to ask.:)

    I returned a set of scotch whisky glasses that arrived broken a month ago. They did send me another set in return for my returning the shattered glasses. But a month later they still haven’t received the broken ones back and plan to charge me the full cost.

    When I couldn’t find a tracking number on my shipping receipt I checked with the UPS store where I took them.There I learned there is no tracking number. It’s a new plan where approved returns get “dumped into one big box” and sent to Amazon all together when the box is full (known as a “consolidated shipment”). So, I’m left fretting about where those broken glasses went and whether I’m gonna get hit with a $40 charge for not returning them in time. Geez. What a way to run a business.

    Bottom line - If that car arrives broken … lots of luck getting a refund. They’ll ship you another one. But you could get stuck paying for two.

  • Sven
    @yogibb posted the most likely scenario that the customers select the car with all the options desired and pick it up at a nearby dealers. So Amazon is offer their shelf space to sell whatever other suppliers want.

    So where is the joy to test drive and haggle with salesman ? We found that cars is a lot more personally than a TV. We rented a Chevy Tahoe for several days but we will never buy it for its lack of space and gas consumption.
  • AnnaAnna
    edited November 2023
    I've started doing returns through Kohl's. I take the stuff to them along with a printout of the QR code Amazon generates. Kohl's usually gives me a discount coupon to use inside the store. Never gave them a sack of broken glass though.
  • Derf
    @hank : I have to ask , did you get your toilet at amazon ?
  • Tarwheel
    You’ve been able to buy cars, many different makes, through Costco for a while. I looked into it the last time I was car shopping, but didn’t bite because I would have had to go through a dealer about 100 miles away. Not worth the trouble for me.
  • WABACWABAC
    @hank, next time, give ebay a shot.

    Easier to read. Better user-protection. I don't work for ebay. And I have no idea if I own any of their stock. Just been shopping with them for years trouble-free.
  • hank
    edited November 2023
    Derf said:

    @hank : I have to ask , did you get your toilet at amazon ?

    @Derf - You remember the toilet saga from about 2 years ago? Yes, after 2 arrived smashed up in boxes (one from Amazon and one from Lowe’s I drove to an area dealer and picked up an unbroken one. Amazon told me not to return theirs, but refunded the money. The UPS driver detected the sound of broken glass on the one from Lowe’s and returned it.

    @WABC - Yes. Have had good luck with EBay.
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