AUTO

Buying Hyundai Cars on Amazon Will Completely Disrupt the Automotive Industry

February 28, 2024

Customers will be able to purchase gas-powered and electric Hyundai cars from Amazon beginning in 2024, with online car buying.
Auto industry experts predict that many other OEMs will begin offering online car buying soon.
Hyundai is making the car-buying process much easier and more seamless.

Amazon and Hyundai made an earth-shattering announcement back in November 2023, which is predicted to severely disrupt all car buying in the future. The announcement was that Amazon would sell Hyundai cars on the Amazon platform. Hyundai’s next-generation showroom on Amazon, using the straightforward name of Hyundai Evolve Showroom, will launch later in 2024. The sales would comprise all types of Hyundai vehicles, whether gas-powered, hybrid, or electric. Customers will be able to select, customize, and order a car online, removing one of the most important reasons for visiting a dealership.

Hyundai’s process for buying cars on Amazon will also remove the need for customers to haggle with dealers over the vehicle’s price. The online buying process will show a final price that does not leave room for negotiations.

A significant feature of this option to buy Hyundai cars online will be Amazon’s financing programs to purchase the vehicles. This will be a disruption for other lenders, such as banks that hold the buyer’s personal checking accounts. These banks have been important to the car-buying process for many buyers in the past.

Auto industry experts predict that this offering will have a tremendous ripple effect throughout the industry and that many other original equipment manufacturers will follow this example. The OEMs may offer sales through platforms like Amazon, their own websites, or multiple websites. This will completely disrupt the existing system, where buyers currently make the purchase in person at their local dealerships.

Tesla Has Had Great Success With Direct Online Sales

Tesla was the first to offer direct sales through its website in a similar manner to the Hyundai-Amazon partnership. Tesla and its controversial CEO Elon Musk made headlines when the direct-to-consumer sales process began.

Dealership associations in multiple states filed numerous lawsuits against Tesla. This was because 48 states have laws that limit or ban car manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to consumers. As of 2023, Tesla is able to sell with a limited number of locations in some states and unrestricted direct sales in others.

Rivian and Lucid Motors have followed Tesla’s direct-to-consumer model. More companies are expected to adopt direct-to-consumer sales, completely disrupting the automotive industry. Tesla removed the process of haggling over prices by posting its price online, which does not allow negotiations. This streamlined online car-buying process will reduce car buyers’ tremendous stress and will allow easy comparisons between brands as more OEMs adopt direct-to-consumer car sales.

Tesla Bypassed New Mexico State Law by Opening Its Locations on a Native American Reservation

A great example of Tesla’s creative sales strategy was when the brand opened locations in New Mexico. In 2021, Tesla opened a location on the Nambé Pueblo native American reservation.

This workaround allowed Tesla to sell EVs in New Mexico because state law does not govern sovereign tribal land.

Dealers Are Not Confident Talking About EVs; They’d Rather Sell Gas-Powered Cars

Most dealers have significant problems when communicating with EV buyers. Dealers know gas-powered, internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and trucks inside and out. They were unprepared for the EV revolution and knew very little about electric vehicles. They’d rather sell gas-powered ICE cars because it’s easier for them to understand and talk about specs – and thus easier to sell.

Some buyers have reported that dealers are trying to talk them out of buying EVs. When talking about EV adoption barriers, such as a lack of public charging, dealers want to avoid going into details since problems like this might lose the sale for them.

Massive education is recommended for both dealers and buyers. EV adoption experts recommend that buyers conduct extensive research on their own before initiating the EV buying process.

Online Is the Future of Vehicle Sales

Hyundai Evolve, the online showroom for buying Hyundai cars on Amazon, hasn’t opened yet as of February 2024, but it will open sometime in 2024. Online systems allow users to pick the trims, options, colors, and all the other features that are available in a new vehicle. With this change, car sellers will be able to own the financing process, disrupting the automotive loan industry.

Other automakers have witnessed the great success of Tesla with its direct sales model. The other automakers are taking from this what they can use. In Hyundai’s case, Hyundai is not expected to close its dealerships to go to a fully direct-to-consumer model such as Tesla’s.

Rather, Hyundai is expected to keep the value of having its existing dealerships and streamline the purchasing process by doing it through Amazon. Hyundai dealerships are expected to keep providing repairs and other services to customers. Other OEMs are expected to follow Hyundai’s example, as completing the sale online will be a much easier process for both the buyer and seller.